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BLACK    AND    WHITE 
IN    SOUTH    EAST   AFRICA 


BLACK  AND  WHITE 


IN 


SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 


A  STUDY  IN  SOCIOLOGY 


MAURICE    S.    EVANS,    C.M.G. 


WITH    A    PREFACE    BY 

Lt.-Colonel  Sir  MATTHEW  NATHAN,  G.C.M.G. 

LATE   GOVERNOR    OF   NATAL 


WITH  A  MAP 


LONGMANS,      GREEN      AND      CO. 

39  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON 

NEW  YORK,  BOMBAY  AND  CALCUTTA 

1911 


E32 


TO 


MY   WIFE 
ELIZABETH  F.  EVANS 


PREFACE. 

Mr.  Maurice  Evans  claims  as  his  qualification  for  dealing 
in  this  book  with  the  relations  between  Black  and  White 
in  South  Africa  his  keen  interest  in  the  subject.  Those 
who,  like  myself,  have  had  the  opportunity  of  talking 
over  with  him  some  of  the  difficult  problems  involved, 
will  certainly  allow  him  this  qualification.  His  readers 
will  also  soon  attribute  to  him  that  sympathy  with  the 
natives,  both  Christian  and  under  tribal  law,  as  well  as 
with  his  fellow  colonials,  which  is  essential  to  any  real 
understanding  of  the  relations  between  the  two  peoples, 
and  they  will  at  the  same  time  appreciate  the  value  of 
his  knowledge  so  evidently  derived  from  much  careful 
study  and  from  considerable  personal  experience. 

I  should  like  to  think  that  among  those  readers  will 
be  a  large  proportion  of  the  thoughtful  men  of  South 
Africa  on  whose  action  in  Parliament  and  on  Provincial 
and  Municipal  Councils  or  on  whose  influence  on  their 
fellow  citizens,  exerted  through  the  press  or  the  lecture 
room,  the  treatment  of  the  native  question  in  the  future 
mainly  depends.  The  book  should  be  read  also  by  that 
important  section  of  earnest  people  in  this  country  and 
their  representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons  who 
claim  to  sympathize  with  all  natives  on  the  grounds  of  a 
broad  humanity  of  feeling  which  the  perusal  will  help 
them  to  believe  is  shared  by  many  of  their  fellow 
countr3^men  in  South  Africa.  For  those  concerned  in 
the  government  of  natives  elsewhere  in  the  great  black 
continent  and  in  the  countries  to  which  Africans  have 
been  transplanted  the  volume  contains  much  that  is  use- 
fully suggestive. 

The  black  races  of  Africa  have  in  the  last  few  hundred 
years  had  opportunities  of  development  on  various  lines. 


viii  PREFACE 

In  the  central  parts  it  is  only  comparatively  recently  that 
this  has  been  affected  from  outside.  To  the  north  they 
have  been  subjected  to  the  Mohammedan  influence  of 
the  Arabs.  The  descendants  of  the  negroes  who  crossed 
the  Atlantic  as  slaves  have  now  behind  them  many 
generations  of  life  in  contact  with  a  Christian  civilization. 
Those  who  to-da}^  rule  in  Hayti  and  Liberia,  after  re- 
ceiving the  impulse  of  that  civilization,  have  been  largely 
left  to  themselves  in  their  subsequent  development. 
The  governments  of  the  European  West  African  colonies 
have  through  the  greater  period  of  their  existence  been 
endeavouring  to  train  the  natives  on  European  lines — to 
make  them  competent  in  agriculture  and  trade,  in  crafts 
and  professions — with  no  fear  of  their  competition  with 
the  ruling  race  which  in  the  tropics  can  administer  but 
cannot  colonize.  In  Africa  south  of  the  tropics  where 
the  European  thrives  the  effect  of  the  development  of 
the  native  on  his  social  and  other  relations  with  the 
white  man  has  constantly  been  kept  in  view  by  the 
governments  concerned  and  has  led,  at  any  rate  in  some 
cases,  to  that  development  being  checked  rather  than 
encouraged. 

The  directions  in  which  under  these  varying  con- 
ditions the  native  has  advanced  most  satisfactorily  from 
the  point  of  view  both  of  his  own  happiness  and  of  the 
welfare  of  the  white  man  with  whom  he  has  been  as- 
sociated and  the  means  to  adopt  further  to  impel  him  in 
these  directions  are  subjects  of  study  requiring  the  closest 
attention  of  the  white  races  interested  and  of  the  countries 
responsible — of  the  United  States,  of  Great  Britain, 
Germany,  France,  and  Portugal.  To  secure  that  the 
experience  of  each  governing  nation  should  become 
available  to  the  others  in  the  form  most  convenient  for 
comparison  and  most  likely  to  lead  to  definite  conclusions 
I  at  one  time  suggested  that  the  relations  between  the 
races  should  be  studied  by  an  international  commission 
and  I  still  believe  that  an  investiaration   of  this  nature 


PREFACE  ix 

should  be  undertaken.  In  the  meantime  the  publication 
by  individual  students  of  monographs  on  special  aspects 
of  the  subject  help  greatly  its  general  consideration  by 
the  ideas  they  suggest  and  the  discussions  to  which  they 
give  rise. 

The  underlying  idea  of  the  present  work  is  that  there 
are  essential  mental  and  spiritual,  as  there  are  obvious 
physical,  differences  between  the  Abantu  and  the  Euro- 
pean, and  that  it  will  be  more  advantageous  to  both  races 
if  the  natives  are  consciously  developed  on  lines  in- 
dicated by  a  study  of  their  characteristics  than  on  the 
assumption  that  their  intelligences  and  natures  are  those 
of  white  men.  To  this  idea  there  will  probably  be 
general  assent.  Most  people  will  also  agree  that 
while  the  white  man  must  decide  the  broad  principles 
on  which  the  native  is  to  be  ruled,  the  latter  must  be 
protected  against  being  governed  in  the  interests  of  the 
constituents  of  a  white  Parliament.  Few  will  dissent 
from  the  view  that  the  native  should  be  trained  up  to  a 
generous  measure  of  local  self-government.  Mr.  Evans 
makes  it  clear  that  his  opinion  that  this  self  government 
should  never  include  participation  in  the  government  of 
the  white  man  is  not  held  by  the  majority  in  the  Cape 
Colony  province.  He  knows  also  that  it  is  not  accept- 
able to  the  more  advanced  supporters  in  this  country 
of  native  rights.  On  the  other  hand,  the  permanent 
allotment  to  the  natives  of  the  areas  now  reserved  for 
them  and  the  addition  to  those  areas  of  the  land  their 
expansion  will  require  in  the  near  future,  involved  by  Mr. 
Evans'  great  principles  of  race  separation,  are  contrary 
to  the  general  land  policy  of  Natal  and  the  provinces 
north  of  the  Orange  and  Vaal  rivers.  In  formulating 
his  scheme  he  has  therefore  not  hesitated  to  diverge 
from  the  paths  of  those  who  look  upon  the  problem 
either  from  the  too  close  standpoint  of  a  much-affected 
colonist  or  from  the  too  remote  one  of  a  distant  sym- 
pathizer with  native  aspirations.    As  to  the  future  govern- 


X  PREFACE 

ment  of  native  areas  he  appears  to  accept  the  broad 
principles  embodied  in  the  schedule  to  the  South  Africa 
Act  of  Union  which  provides  for  the  ultimate  inclusion 
in  the  Union  of  Swaziland,  Basutoland  and  Bechuana- 
land,  while  as  to  details  he  has  naturally  a  strong  lean- 
ing towards  the  recommendations  of  the  Natal  Native 
Affairs  Commission  of  1907  of  which  he  was  so  use- 
ful a  member  and  towards  the  Act  of  the  Natal  Par- 
liament framed  on  those  recommendations.  He  would 
further  educate  the  natives  freely  and  give  missionary 
effort  full  scope,  always  provided  that  the  mass  of  the 
Abantu  are  kept  in  separate  areas  from  the  bulk  of  the 
Europeans  so  that  the  advancement  of  the  former  may 
not  operate  towards  their  closer  association  with  the 
latter.  As  regards  this  plan  of  segregation,  carried  as 
far  as  practical  conditions  of  life  will  allow  and  constantly 
more  completely  applied,  the  opinions  of  readers  will 
doubtless  differ.  For  my  part,  I  find  it  difficult  to  get 
away  from  the  author's  fears  that  contact  between  the 
races  at  an  increasing  number  of  points  would  lead  not 
only  to  miscegenation  which  between  persons  widely 
differing  in  origin  produces  a  weak  progeny,  but  also 
to  degeneration  in  the  white  community  due  to  the  put- 
ting aside  of  all  physical  labour,  and  bitterness  in  the 
Abantu  who  by  restriction  to  that  labour  would  be  per- 
manently maintained  in  a  semi-servile  position. 

Towards  the  unfortunate  results  of  miscegenation 
the  author  would  be  wholly  generous,  and,  while  he 
would  rigorously  prevent  the  Indian  population  of  South 
East  Africa  being  added  to  from  outside,  he  would  recog- 
nize the  rights  of  that  population  to  enjoy  the  full  fruits 
of  their  industry  directed  into  channels  most  beneficial 
to  the  whole  community. 

The  book  attempts  to  come  to  grips  with  the  diffi- 
culties of  a  vastly  important  subject.  It  has  a  high  pur- 
pose and  I  wish  it  a  great  effect. 

MATTHEW  NATHAN. 


INTRODUCTION. 

SOiME  four  years  ago,  just  after  the  native  rebellion  in 
Natal  of  IQ06,  I  took  my  courage  in  both  hands  and 
ventured  to  write  a  pamphlet  dealing  with  the  native 
problem  in  Natal,  for  the  consideration  of  my  fellow 
colonists. 

At  that  time  the  people  of  the  colon}^  were  roused  to 
a  consideration  of  the  native  question  by  the  unfortunate 
happenings  of  the  time,  and  this  interest  resulted  in  the 
appointment  by  Government  of  the  Natal  Native  Com- 
mission of  1906-7,  of  which  Commission  I  had  the  honour 
to  be  a  member.  It  was  presided  over  by  the  Hon. 
H.  C.  Campbell,  then  Judge  President  of  the  Native  High 
Court,  and  the  members  included  representatives  of  both 
the  European  races  of  South  Africa,  colonists  born  in 
South  Africa,  intimately  acquainted  with  the  natives,  and 
speaking  their  language ;  and  one  at  least  of  whom, 
Colonel  H.  E.  Rawson,  R.E.,  C.B.,  might  be  regarded  as 
representing  the  Imperial  view  of  the  question. 

The  Commission  travelled  all  over  Natal  and  Zulu- 
land,  even  to  the  inner  recesses  of  the  land,  and  took 
the  evidence  of  301  Europeans  and  906  natives,  either 
personally  or  by  delegation.  So  highly  did  the  natives 
appreciate  the  opportunities  afforded  them  of  expressing 
their  views,  that  at  least  5500,  including  chiefs  and  head- 
men. Christian  natives,  some  of  whom  were  exempted 
from  native  law,  attended,  and,  on  the  whole,  spoke,  as 
they  were  invited  to  do,  with  remarkable  freedom.  It  is 
believed  that  no  similar  local  inquiry  has  collected  such 


xH  INTRODUCTION 

a  mass  of  carefully  prepared  evidence,  all  of  which  was 
noted  and  abridged  by  a  highly  qualified  officer,  and 
thereafter  returned  to  many  of  the  witnesses  for  revision 
and  signature. 

The  Report,  which  was  signed  by  all  the  members  of 
the  Commission,  was  of  the  most  outspoken  character, 
neither  evading  nor  condoning  the  actions  of  the  past, 
made  a  considerable  impression  on  the  people  of  the 
colony,  and  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention  in  other 
parts  of  South  Africa,  and  even  in  Britain. 

The  attention  thus  directed  to  the  question  led  the 
Government  of  the  day  to  introduce  into  Parliament  the 
Native  Administration  Act  of  1909,  under  the  provisions 
of  which,  as  recommended  in  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mission, a  Permanent  Secretary  of  Native  Affairs  was 
appointed,  together  with  four  District  Native  Commis- 
sioners subordinate  to  him,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
Native  Council  consisting  of  the  four  District  Commis- 
sioners and  four  non-official  members.  The  duties  of 
the  District  Commissioners  were  to  act  as  fathers  and 
advisers  to  the  people,  accessible  to  them  at  all  times,  to 
guide  and  encourage  them  in  effort  likely  to  be  for  their 
true  advancement ;  the  functions  of  the  Native  Council 
were  to  revise  all  existing  legislation  and  regulations 
affecting  the  natives,  to  consider  the  existing  taxation 
measures,  to  advise  Government  in  all  matters  calculated 
to  lead  to  their  betterment,  and  especially  to  consider 
and  report  upon  all  proposed  legislation,  such  report  to 
be  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House  before  it  was  considered 
by  Parliament. 

The  freedom  and  fearlessness  with  which  the  Com- 
mission criticized  the  past  action  and  inaction  of  the 
Government,  the  open  manner  in  which  they  admitted 
the  grievances  of  the  natives  and  allocated  blame,  have 
been  freely  used  by  many  who  were  no  friends  of  the 
colonists  to  formulate  and  support  charges  of  harshness 
against  the  Europeans  of  Natal,  and  maladministration 


INTRODUCTION  xlii 

and  lack  of  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  Government, 
and  this  has  caused  pain  to  many  of  us  who  know  both 
sides  of  the  question. 

One  such  occasion  was  the  visit  of  Mr.  Keir  Hardie, 
M.P.,  to  Natal,  when  in  the  presence  of  the  writer  and 
others  he  made  such  accusations  against  the  colonists, 
based  upon  the  conclusions  of  the  Report,  as  made  it 
necessary  to  point  out  how  little  he  knew  of  the  inward- 
ness of  the  question  with  its  complexities  and  difficulties, 
and  whilst  those  who  were  faced  with  it  in  their  daily 
lives  did  not  resent,  nay  welcomed,  fair  criticism,  some 
measure  of  sympathy  was  due  to  them  from  those  of  our 
own  race  who  were  free  from  the  immediate  stress  and 
strain  of  the  burden. 

These  people  do  not  realize  the  arduous  and  intricate 
problem  which  lies  before  the  people  of  South  Africa  in 
dealing  with  the  native  races  of  the  sub-continent ;  they 
will  not  understand,  and  it  almost,  at  times,  seems  as  if 
they  did  not  want  to  understand,  that  though  there  have 
been  faults  both  of  omission  and  commission  in  the  past, 
there  has  also  been,  on  the  part  of  many  South  African 
colonists,  a  full  realization  of  their  heavy  responsibilities 
to  the  natives,  and  a  willing  desire,  if  they  could  only  get 
a  clear  lead,  to  shoulder  those  responsibilities  however 
onerous ;  to  earnestly  take  up  the  white  man's  burden. 

And  in  particular,  they  do  not  know  the  kindly 
relations  existing  in  all  parts  of  the  colony  between 
hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of  Europeans  and  their  native 
neighbours  or  dependants,  relations  fully  recognized  by 
the  native,  and  shown  by  his  readiness  to  come  to  his 
European  friend  for  help  and  guidance  in  his  difficulties. 

Surely  it  should  count  to  the  colony  for  righteous- 
ness that  seven  men  should  sign  a  document,  telling  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  hiding 
nothing,  extenuating  nothing,  even  though  it  meant  a 
striking  and  forcible  indictment  of  their  methods  in  the 
past. 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

And  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  people  of 
Natal,  instead  of  denying  the  allegations  of  the  Commis- 
sion, or  trying  to  refute  their  conclusions,  unpalatable  as 
they  must  have  been,  accepted  them,  perhaps  with  some 
humiliation,  but  set  themselves  to  put  things  right  and 
make  a  fresh  start.  Let  our  critics  remember  also  these 
things,  and  give  us  credit  for  our  attempts  to  work  out, 
in  the  interests  of  both  races,  the  difficult — perhaps  in- 
soluble— problem  we  are  called  upon  to  face.  They 
reserve  all  their  sympathy  for  the  black  man.  We,  too, 
have  sympathy  for  him,  but  a  sympathy  we  are  striving 
to  fit  in  with  reason  by  acquiring  knowledge,  and  by 
hard  and  close  thinking,  while  theirs,  too  often,  is 
sympathy  lacking  reason  and  without  knowledge — pure 
sentimentalism. 

Now  again  I  take  my  courage  in  my  hands,  and  at 
this  time,  the  beginning  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa, 
endeavour  to  put  this,  our  problem,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
and  try  to  speak  to  a  wider  audience  than  before,  for 
though  of  more  immediate  concern  to  us  who  dwell  in 
this  land  amongst  an  overwhelming  mass  of  black  men, 
the  question  is  of  Imperial,  nay  world-wide  importance 
and  significance. 

For  this  reason  it  is  that  I  have  entered  into  details 
which  may  seem  almost  puerile  to  my  fellow  colonists, 
such  as  a  description  of  the  country  and  the  natural  sur- 
roundings of  the  Abantu.  But  I  wished,  if  possible,  to 
bring  a  picture  of  our  environment  and  that  of  the  native 
before  the  mind's  eye  of  those  who  had  never  been  in  the 
country ;  to  make  the  picture  complete. 

Life  and  the  conditions  surrounding  it  are  ever 
changing,  and  we  so  easily  forget  what  was  once  so 
obvious  and  apparent  a  decade,  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago.  What  would  not  we  give  now  for  a  contemporary 
picture,  consciously  drawn,  giving  an  observant  man's 
idea  of  the  life  of  black  and  white  forty  years  ago,  their 
inter-relations  at  that  time,  and  his  views  of  the  future  ? 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

I  hope  so  to  set  down  my  observations  and  the  deduc- 
tions therefrom  that  they  may  serve  for  comparison  in 
years  to  come  as  a  picture  of  the  actual  position  of  affairs 
in  this  the  first  year  of  South  African  Union. 

And  I  want  to  remember  that  the  problem  is  not  only 
how  we  are  to  govern  and  meet  all  our  obligations  to  the 
black  man,  but  how,  in  the  face  of  our  tangled  environ- 
ment, we  are  to  do  justice  to  those  of  our  own  race, 
especially  those  who  are  to  take  up  the  burden  when  we 
are  gone.  I  want  to  try  and  find  out  what  effect  the 
contact  of  black  and  white  is  going  to  have,  not  only  on 
the  black  man,  but  on  those  of  our  own  race  in  South 
East  Africa,  to  forecast,  if  it  be  possible,  the  dangers  of 
such  contact,  and  forecasting,  endeavour  so  to  rule  our 
lives  as  to  prevent  or  minimize  the  dangers  which  un- 
doubtedly lie  before  us. 

Some  seven  years  ago  I  had  the  privilege  of  visiting 
New  Zealand,  and  travelled  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  I  was  much  impressed  with  what  I 
saw  there.  The  beauty  and  the  fertility  of  the  land,  its 
freedom  from  the  pests  so  common  here,  the  universal 
economic  well-being  of  the  people,  the  ease  with  which 
they  could  make  social  and  legislative  experiments  as 
practically  one  people,  with  common  aims  and  ideals,  all 
struck  me  forcibly. 

For  some  time  after  landing  I  could  not  help  con- 
trasting their  lot  with  that  of  their  fellow-countrymen  in 
this  land,  in  that  they  were  free  from  this  our  great  prob- 
lem, and  could  set  themselves  to  the  development  of  the 
country,  to  the  economic,  social,  and  moral  improvement 
of  their  own  people.  I  saw  that  the  Maori  was  still  in 
some  portions  of  the  land,  though  the  South  Island  was 
free  from  his  presence,  but  even  so,  he  is  only  as  one  in 
thirty  to  the  whites,  he  does  not  constitute  a  problem  as 
the  black  man  does  here.  Rather  the  New  Zealanders 
of  European  descent  regard  him  as  a  curious  appendage, 
one   of    the   picturesque   assets    of   the   country,    to    be 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

pointed  out  to  visitors,  and  view  him  and  his  peculiarities 
with  the  greatest  tolerance.  Were  the  proportions  of 
white  to  Maori  the  same  as  in  South  East  Africa  be- 
tween Abantu  and  European,  this  good-natured  tolerance 
would  not  be  the  lasting  attitude. 

But  the  frame  of  mind  with  which  I  first  viewed  the 
people  and  their  country  did  not  last,  and  before  I  left 
the  shores  of  that  beautiful  island,  the  Britain  of  the  South 
Seas,  I  felt  that  though  our  more  difficult  and  involved 
environment  here  at  times  made  one  almost  despair,  and 
long  for  a  land  problem-free,  yet  it  had  its  compensa- 
tions, and  that  in  manfully  facing  our  troubles  we  might 
derive  a  virtue  impossible  under  easier  conditions — that 
our  responsibilities  were  also  our  privilege. 


MAURICE  S.  EVANS. 


HiLLCREST,    BeREA, 

Durban,  Nov.,  1910. 


CONTENTS. 

Preface         .......... 

Introduction         ......... 

CHAPTER 

I.   Vula'  Mlomo 

II.  The  Country  and  its  People  ..... 

III.  Tribalism — The  Old  Socialist  and  the  New  Individualist 

IV.  Missions  and  Education — The  Altruism  of  the  White 
Man 

V.  Land— The  Need  of  the  Black  Man     . 

VI.  Labour — The  Demand  of  the  White  Man 

VII.  What  the  Black  Man  thinks 

VIII.  The  Effect  on  the  White  Man      . 

IX.  Past  Policies  and  Present  Theories 

X.  The  Asiatic  and  Coloured  Sub-Problems 

XL  For  the  Future 

Index         ...... 


PAGE 

vii 


I 

22 

65 

92 

126 

154 
184 

206 

237 
283 

310 
329 


MAP. 


South  Africa 


At  the  end  of  the  Volume 


"  I  think  that  a  right  use  of  life  and  the  true  secret  of  life  is  to  pave  the 
way  for  the  firmer  footing  of  those  who  succeed  us." — George  Meredith. 

"  For  God  fulfils  himself  in  many  ways, 
Lest  one  good  custom  should  corrupt  the  world." 


CHAPTER  I 

VULA'  MLOMO 

As  I  sit  on  my  verandah  on  the  Berea  Ridge  this  lovely 
Sabbath  day,  with  the  sunlit  Indian  Ocean  in  the  fore- 
ground, and  behind  the  rolling  grassy  hills,  with  lines  of 
dark  bush  following  the  stream  sides  in  the  hollows,  and 
with  varied  cultivation  on  the  slopes,  three  distinct  sounds 
come  to  my  ear. 

The  nearest  is  that  of  a  piano  lightly  touched,  and  a 
youthful  voice  singing  in  low  tones  hymns  Ancient  and 
Modern.  From  the  native  quarters  at  the  foot  of  the 
wooded  garden  the  monotone  of  Abantu  singing  reaches 
me,  accompanied  by  the  rhythmic  beat  of  heavy  feet  stamp- 
ing in  unison.  Further  away  among  the  banana  planta- 
tions, comes  the  lighter  reiteration  of  the  Indian  tom-tom. 

The  problems  of  the  country  voiced,  the  races  who 
occupy  this  fair  land  brought  vividly  before  the  mind 
through  the  ear. 

To  the  eye,  indeed,  only  one  race  and  its  achievements 
would  appeal.  Take  away  the  subtropical  trees  and 
shrubs,  the  piercingly  African  scarlet  of  the  Kaffir  boom, 
the  palms  and  bananas,  the  poinsettia  and  bougain- 
villia,  and  what  remains  ? — the  visible  impress  of  man  upon 
his  surroundings  here  is  overwhelmingly  European.  Ex- 
cepting for  one  or  two  matters  of  detail  the  whole  might 
be  situated  on  the  shores  of  the  English  Channel,  in 
British  Columbia,  or  New  Zealand. 

The  lower  slopes  of  the  Berea  are  covered  with  cottage 
and  villa  residences,  the  oldest  plain — a  place  to  dwell  in — 
the  newer  ambitious,  with  tiled  verandahs  and  stained 
glass  doors,  copies  of  the  suburban ;  but  all   show  the 

I 


2     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

taste  and  aspiration  of  Western  Europe  in  various  stages 
and  degrees. 

Below,  the  town  proper,  in  the  centre  the  huge  town 
hall,  no  whit  different  to  what  the  final  flowering  of 
municipal  life  would  be  in  Europe  or  America ;  broad 
streets  threaded  by  electric  trams,  huge  stores  filled 
with  the  products  of  European  skill,  public  buildings 
indicating  the  usual  and  familiar  activities  of  a  modern 
European  city,  surrounded  again  by  the  harbour  filled 
with  shipping  and  equipped  with  all  the  recent  inventions 
of  European  science. 

The  whole  originated  in  the  brain  of  the  white  man. 
He  laid  out  the  town,  he  planned  the  buildings,  he  im- 
ported the  goods  in  the  stores,  he  drew  the  specifications 
for  the  tramways,  he  installed  the  electric  power  and 
light,  the  whole  is  for  his  comfort,  advancement,  con- 
venience. 

The  stranger  sees  black  men  in  the  streets,  he  is  struck 
by  the  barbaric  splendour  and  mighty  physique  of  the 
ricksha-pullers,  but  nowhere  is  there  any  evidence  of 
the  work  of  the  black  man,  nowhere  any  evidence  that 
he  participates  in  any  of  the  comforts,  conveniences, 
amenities  seen  on  every  hand. 

And  yet  in  this  colony  of  Natal  there  are  eleven 
black  men,  natives  of  the  soil,  for  each  white  man.  Even 
here  in  its  principal  city  there  are  nearly  17,000  black 
men  as  against  30,000  Europeans,  of  all  ages  and  sexes. 
Probably  the  adult  male  black  population  in  the  town 
at  any  one  time  is  double  that  of  all  the  white  men. 

And  though  the  plans  were  drawn  and  the  skilled 
work  done  by  white  men,  the  whole  of  the  manual  labour 
given  to  fill  the  swamps,  lay  the  trams,  build  the  stores, 
load  the  goods,  was  by  the  black  man,  of  whose  labour 
there  is  no  trace  in  the  finished  work. 

Over  the  hills  to  the  west,  in  the  folds  of  the  land,  in 
all  kinds  of  picturesque  nooks,  in  the  locations  of  the 
Umlazi  and  Inanda,  is  the  home  of  the  black  man,  and 
there  you  find  evidence  of  his  works.     But  so  hidden 


VULA'  MLOMO  3 

away,  so  much  a  part  of  the  land  itself,  that  you  may 
stand  on  the  edge  of  a  huge  valley  a  thousand  feet 
above  the  stream  at  the  foot,  a  valley  full  of  the 
homes  of  the  Abantu,  and  only  the  trained  eye  can  see 
any.  An  enclosure  of  wattles  for  the  cattle,  a  few  bee- 
hive shaped  huts  neatly  made  of  grass,  and  brown  like  the 
surrounding  veldt,  a  little  cultivation,  is  all  the  impress 
the  black  man  makes  on  his  natural  surroundings  ;  it  all  so 
blends  with  the  colours  of  the  grass  and  bush  that  it  is 
little  wonder  the  land  seems  uninhabited,  though,  in 
reality,  full  of  the  most  vigorous  human  life. 

This  is  the  true  home  of  the  black  man — Kaffirland — 
the  place  to  which  his  thoughts  turn  when  working  in 
the  white  man's  service,  the  place  to  which  nothing  on 
earth  will  prevent  his  return  if  taken  with  bodily  sickness 
or  nostalgia.  Here  he  lives  as  his  fathers  lived,  enjoying 
to-day  and  thinking  not  of  to-morrow,  courting  the  girls, 
drinking  beer,  and  gazing  on  the  beloved  cattle. 

And  only  a  short  twenty  miles  away  over  the  hills, 
less  than  that  by  the  short  cuts  the  native  knows,  is  the 
town  hall,  the  electric  trams,  the  stores,  the  theatres,  the 
complicated,  urgent,  strenuous  life  of  the  white  man. 

Into  it  the  black  man  comes,  his  liquid  native  name 
dropped,  as  the  white  man  cannot  pronounce  it.  He  be- 
comes Jim,  Tom,  Dick,  and  serves  the  white  man.  He  sees 
strange  sights,  works  among  complicated  machinery 
which  does  wondrous  things,  without  understanding  it 
or  wanting  to  understand  it ;  he  waits  at  tables  decked 
with  silver  and  crystal,  and  loaded  with  food  drawn  from 
all  the  quarters  of  the  world ;  he  pulls  a  ricksha  and  has 
strange  glimpses  of  the  white  man's  inner  life  ;  he  nurses 
the  baby  in  a  little  cottage  home.  But  only  for  a  few 
months  :  the  desire  comes  on  him,  and  no  wage  offered, 
no  sense  of  gratitude,  will  keep  him  away  longer  from 
the  kraal  by  the  rushing  Umlazi,  from  the  girls,  from  the 
cattle. 

I  know  of  no  contrast  in  human  life  more  suggestive 
than  one  which  may  be  seen  in  Durban  almost  any  day. 

I  * 


4      BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

The  open  space  in  front  of  the  new  Town  Hall ;  on  one  side 
that  noble  pile  and  around  it  buildings  and  gardens 
devoted  to  the  many  desires  of  our  twentieth  century 
civilization.  Electric  trams  glide,  passing  and  repassing 
in  all  directions,  motor  cars  and  carriages  carry  well- 
dressed  ladies  to  theatre  or  ball,  the  open  space  filled 
with  the  men  and  women  of  our  day.  And  across  it  file 
four  or  five  native  girls  headed  by  a  small  umfaan  ;  with 
the  exception  of  a  piece  of  semi-transparent  salempore, 
kept  in  place  by  a  few  beads,  they  wear  the  dress  of  the 
girls  of  Tyaka,  and  in  body  and  mind  are  much  the  same. 
Shyly  they  cross  the  square,  a  little  frightened  at  all  the 
stir,  but  not  without  a  certain  timid  dignity,  and  disappear 
into  a  quieter  part  of  the  town  to  stay  with  a  "brother" 
until  to-morrow,  when,  bundle  on  head,  with  erect  step, 
they  climb  the  hills  and  cross  the  streams  which  lie  be- 
tween the  whirl  and  glitter  of  European  civilization — in 
which  they  appeared  for  a  moment  in  such  incongruous 
fashion — and  the  little  brown  kraals  on  the  quiet  ridges 
above  the  streams  of  the  'Ndwedwe. 

Still  in  my  memory  lives  my  first  visit  to  the  home  of 
the  Abantu,  the  wild  and  picturesque  Inanda  location, 
the  home  of  the  Qadi  tribe.  On  a  botanical  tramp  I 
visited  the  home  of  that  veteran  botanist,  Mr.  J.  Medley 
Wood,  A.L.S.,  now  Director  of  the  Botanical  Gardens, 
Durban,  who,  thirty-five  years  ago,  lived  in  an  isolated 
spot  on  the  tablelands  of  the  Inanda  overlooking  the 
rugged  valley  of  the  Umgeni.  Arriving  in  the  evening 
with  the  dark  shades  closing  round,  and  from  the  dim 
valley,  borne  by  the  wind,  the  faint  weird  far-away  and 
unrecognized  sounds  of  natives  calling  in  the  depths ; 
the  little  house  surrounded  by  tall  gum  trees  and  dark 
clumps  of  bamboos  seemed  a  speck  of  civilization  almost 
whelmed  by  the  mysterious  masses  of  barbarism  one 
could  feel  all  around.  Later,  here  and  there  on  the  hill 
slopes  and  in  the  deeper  valley,  little  firelights 'twinkled, 
showing  the  kraal  sites  of  the  Abantu.  My  imagination 
was  strangely  impressed  by  stories  of  the  Zulu  country 


VULA'  MLOMO  5 

then  ruled  by  Cetywayo  at  the  height  of  his  power,  and 
especially  one  tragic  tale  of  the  total  disappearance  on  a 
misty  evening  from  a  home  in  a  similar  localit}'  of  a  little 
white  child  who  was  swallowed  up  in  some  mysterious 
way,  lost  among  the  natives  and  never  heard  of  again,  pre- 
sumably killed  by  a  witch  doctor  for  muti  otherwise  unob- 
tainable. The  sighing  of  the  night  wind  in  the  high  gum 
trees,  the  creaking  of  the  tall  dark  bamboos,  the  lone  fires 
in  the  far  distance,  with  the  occasional  far-carried  call  of 
a  native  representing  thousands  unseen  yet  felt,  stamped 
into  my  mind  an  impression  of  the  black  man  which  is 
still  fresh  to  this  da^^ 

It  is  now  a  little  over  seventy  years  since  the  first 
effective  occupation  of  Natal  by  the  white  man.  Then  it 
was  that  the  white-tented  wagons  of  the  voortrekkers, 
after  their  long  journey  over  the  high  inland  plains,  came 
to  the  edge  of  the  Drakensberg  range,  and  these  pioneers 
saw  stretched  below  them  what  seemed  another  world. 
Down  the  mountain  passes  rolled  the  wheels,  and  in 
taking  possession  of  the  new  land  the  Afrikander  first 
came  into  contact  with  the  Zulu,  Settled  on  his  farms 
in  the  uplands  of  Klip-river  and  Weenen,  he  called  upon 
the  native  to  do  the  laborious  part  of  his  pastoral  and 
agricultural  work,  to  herd  his  sheep  and  cattle,  to  drive 
his  wagon,  to  plough  his  fields.  The  native  responded, 
and  became  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer  of  water  to  the 
strange  white  man  who  took  the  land. 

Later  on  came  Britons,  singly  or  in  organized  com- 
panies, from  over  the  sea,  and  again  the  black  man  was 
summoned  to  do  the  heavy  work  in  building  towns,  in 
fetching  and  carrying,  in  growing  sugar,  coftee,  tea,  under 
the  superintendence  and  for  the  behoof  of  the  white  man. 

From  neither  pastoralist  nor  agriculturist,  builder  nor 
trader,  Briton  nor  Boer,  did  the  Abantu  learn  much  or 
change  his  mode  of  life.  Still  he  lived  in  his  grass  hut,  still 
he  followed  the  agricultural  methods  of  his  fathers,  gather- 
ing his  scanty  crops  from  land  ill-cultivated  till  it  refused 
to  yield  more,  then  abandoning  it  for  another  virgin  plot. 


6     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

He  made  no  attempt  to  follow  the  example  of  the  white 
man  in  the  improvement  of  his  cattle,  he  made  no  attempt 
to  make  money  like  the  white  man  by  opening  a  store,  he 
saw  and  wondered  at  the  complicated  life  of  the  intruder, 
but  followed  the  paths  of  his  fathers.  Beyond  some 
appreciation  of  the  comfort  of  clothing  in  cold  weather, 
and  the  gradual  change  of  blanket  for  kaross,  and  plough 
for  pick,  his  art  and  cultivation  remain  much  in  the  same 
stage  as  when  Tyaka  overran  the  land. 

And  the  government  of  the  white  man  leaves  him  in 
heart  untouched.  Still  he  is  a  polygamist,  giving  his 
daughters  in  return  for  cattle,  still  devoted  to  his  tribal 
life  and  hereditary  chief,  still  believing  in  and  dreading 
witchcraft.  The  white  man  comes  and  plans,  schemes, 
builds,  bringing  in  more  goods,  more  appliances,  ever 
developing ;  the  black  man  remains,  increases,  persists. 

It  is  this  great  passive  power  of  persistence  that  makes 
our  problem  to-day.  The  Red  man,  the  Polynesian,  the 
Maori,  unable  to  withstand  the  breath  of  the  white  man 
and  the  change  in  environment  he  brings,  wither  awa}^ — 
the  black  man  persists.  New  conditions  are  introduced, 
they  change  him  not ;  new  ideas,  he  wonders  and  goes 
on  his  way ;  new  diseases  arrive,  he  still  increases  in 
numbers.  The  reports  of  district  surgeons  notwithstand- 
ing, one  has  but  to  look  at  the  physique  of  the  ricksha- 
pullers,  the  plump  comely  forms  of  the  strings  of  native 
girls  walking  through  the  streets,  the  absence  of  anaemic 
or  of  m.alformed  among  them,  to  recognize  we  are  deal- 
ing with  a  race  of  exceptional  physical  power  and  virility. 

Changed  they  are  and  still  changing,  and  of  these 
changes  I  shall  have  more  to  say — they  are  part  of  the 
problem.  But  we  shall  be  starting  from  utterly  false 
premises  if  we  do  not  understand  at  the  outset  this 
wonderful  power  of  persistence  in  the  face  of  changed 
environment. 

Hence  there  had  been  no  problem. 

But  a  problem  there  is,  a  problem  full  of  the  most  vital 
interest  and  significance,  a  problem  which  is  in  process  of 


VULA'  MLOMO  7 

being  worked  out  here  in  South  East  Africa,  but  which 
apphes  to  all  Africa,  and  which  will  recur  under  different 
aspects  wherever  a  strenuous  European  people,  imbued 
with  the  desire  to  keep  their  race  intact  and  pure,  and 
intent  on  the  utmost  economic  development,  live  alongside 
a  conservative  one  at  a  lower  stage  of  culture  and  yet 
withal  virile  and  increasing  in  numbers. 

A  world  drama  is  being  enacted  in  South  Africa,  part 
of  the  great  drama  of  human  life.  We  are  in  the  midst  of 
it,  playing  our  part,  and  most  of  us  do  not  know  it. 

Hitherto  in  South  East  Africa,  the  governing  powers 
have  never  set  themselves  to  give  this  great  question  the 
really  serious  thought  it  demands.  The  native  has  gener- 
ally and  principally  been  regarded  as  a  factor  in  the 
economic  development  of  the  country,  and  a  very  unsatis- 
factory one  at  that,  a  person  who  was  loath  to  come  out 
to  work,  and  even  when  he  did,  demanded  a  higher  rate  of 
remuneration  than  his  primitive  service  was  worth,  who 
was  unreliable  and  could  not  be  depended  upon  for  con- 
tinuous service,  but  wanted  to  get  back  to  his  kraal  as  soon 
as  he  became  of  value,  and  who  never  returned.  The 
Governments  reflected  the  current  opinion  of  the  people. 
And  in  addition,  at  intervals,  often  without  apparent 
reason,  and  at  most  inconvenient  times,  he  went  to  war  or 
rose  in  rebellion,  and  it  cost  much  money  and  the  unpleas- 
ant necessity  of  raising  loans  to  conquer  or  suppress  him. 

The  problem  will  not  be  solved  by  treating  the  native 
solely  as  an  economic  factor,  or  by  the  rifle. 

It  might  be  thought  that  those  who  had  lived  among 
the  natives  all  their  lives,  devoting  themselves  to  their 
service  in  order  to  convert  them  to  Christianity',  would 
have  thought  out  the  whole  problem,  and  would  have 
shown  a  clear  leading  to  those  who  would  have  the 
practical  work  of  putting  it  into  operation.  As  I  will  try 
to  show  when  dealing  with  Missions,  I  believe  a  new  spirit 
and  a  broader  outlook  in  their  work  is  animating  some  of 
the  missionaries  in  these  later  days,  but  hitherto  they 
seem    to    have    been    so    engrossed    witli    their   primary 


8      BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

objects  of  bringing  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  to  their 
people  that  they  have  not  had  time  to  give  thought  to  the 
problem  of  their  fuiure  under  the  new  surroundings 
introduced.  And  often,  I  am  afraid,  the  apparent  hopeless- 
ness of  their  efforts  has  taken  the  heart  out  of  them. 
Again,  in  many  cases,  their  work  has  kept  them  in  isolated 
corners  of  the  land,  and  although  they  knew  the  natives 
around  them  and  their  immediate  surroundings,  such 
isolation  militated  against  a  broad  view  of  the  situation. 
It  will  probably  be  answered  by  missionaries  that  socio- 
logical study  forms  no  part  of  their  work  ;  to  bring  men  to 
Christ  is  their  all  in  all.  Granting  this,  I  only  wish  to  point 
out  that  philanthropy  has  not  in  the  past  helped  much  to  a 
wide  and  all-embracing  view  of  our  problem. 

The  preservation  of  order,  the  encouragement  to 
work,  the  teaching  of  Christianity,  all  have  to  bear  on  our 
question,  but  none  alone  will  solve  it. 

Though  little  has  been  done  to  really  study  our 
problem,  I  know  that,  deep  in  the  hearts  of  many  in 
South  East  Africa,  this  question  has  been  smouldering. 
A  grave  dissatisfaction  with  the  present  position  is  ever 
with  them,  they  feel  they  have  a  heavy  responsibility  to 
the  native,  and  they  know  not  how  to  justify  themselves. 
They  feel  that  to  use  their  labour,  to  shoot  them  down 
when  recalcitrant,  even  to  convert  them  to  Christianity, 
is  not  the  whole  that  is  demanded  of  them.  Feeling  thus 
these  men  put  their  sense  of  responsibility  into  practical 
shape,  and  in  their  everyday  dealings  with  the  black  man 
are  scrupulously  fair,  tolerant  to  his  prejudices,  helping 
him  in  his  difficulties.  The  relations  of  such  men  with 
the  natives  are  indeed  pleasant  to  witness,  they  are  the 
salt  of  the  earth  to  the  Abantu  population  among  whom 
they  live.  They  are  those  who,  in  the  absence  of  an}'^ 
helpfulness  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  and  in  spite 
of  the  selfish  attitude  of  the  baser  sort,  have  kept  the  re- 
lations of  black  and  white  clean  and  sweet,  and  have,  with- 
out knowing  it,  prevented  many  a  disaster.  But  the 
wholesome  and  antiseptic  relations  of  these  men  with  the 


VULA'  MLOMO  9 

natives  has  only  been  personal,  and  they  have  felt,  I  know, 
the  hopelessness  of  the  situation  as  a  whole.  Some  of  them 
have  felt,  at  times,  so  depressed  by  the  apparent  hope- 
lessness of  the  outlook  as  to  feel  regret  that  they  ever 
came  to  South  East  Africa,  and  even  to  consider  the  de- 
sirability of  leaving  it  for  a  country  free  from  our  complex 
racial  questions.  Fortunately  for  South  Africa,  though 
their  insight  is  beyond  that  of  the  many,  so  is  their  cour- 
age, and  though  realizing  what  may  be,  they  stay  to  see  it 
out.  Once  or  twice  I  have  been  startled  when  circum- 
stances have  impelled  to  an  intimacy  not  usual,  to  find, 
deep  in  their  hearts,  far  below  the  surface,  foreboding 
about  our  future  they  would  only  disclose  to  those  likely 
to  understand,  and  an  anxiety  to  see  the  right  path  which 
is  almost  pathetic.  I  feel  that  in  such  men  is  our  hope, 
and  if  called  upon  to  make  effort  or  sacrifice  for  what 
they  feel  right  we  may  ever  depend  upon  them. 

It  is  a  common  thing  among  optimists  to  hear  the 
statement  made  that  this  country  is  going  to  rival,  in  popu- 
lation and  prosperity,  the  other  great  self-governing 
colonies  of  the  Empire,  and  during  our  times  of  expansion 
and  general  well-being  such  a  strain  of  thought  is  implied  in 
general  conversation.  A  favourite  subject  of  after-dinner 
or  platform  oratory  is  the  theme  of  the  possibilities  of  the 
country,  and  such  phrases  as  "  the  brightest  jewel  in  the 
British  Crown,"  and  "a  white  man's  country,"  are  the 
looked-for  peroration  to  speeches  on  such  occasions. 
But  in  the  minds  of  those  who  think,  to  those  who  reall}' 
see  life  in  South  Africa  as  it  is,  and  see  it  whole,  in  the 
hearts  of  the  men  whom  I  have  tried  to  portray,  there  is, 
deep  down,  the  knowledge,  feeling,  or  instinct,  that  until 
we  can  more  clearly  see  our  way  on  this  great  question, 
any  such  expressions,  though  evoking  rounds  of  unthink- 
ing applause,  are  of  little  meaning  or  value,  and  meantime 
the}^  grope  for  more  light. 

Sir  Matthew  Nathan,  whose  experience  of  backward 
races  in  other  parts  of  the  Empire  is  deep  and  extensive, 
when  Governor  of  Natal,  took  an  intense  interest  in  our 


lo   BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

problem,  visited  and  held  meetings  among  the  people, 
and  by  his  sympath}^  help,  and  wise  counsel  did  much  to 
inaugurate  the  new  departure  under  the  Native  Adminstra- 
tion  Act  of  1909  by  which  District  Native  Commissioners 
and  a  Native  Council  came  into  being.  In  a  late  utterance, 
just  before  leaving  South  Africa,  on  the  eve  of  Union, 
realizing  that  this  was  a  question  intimately  affecting  not 
only  South  Africa  and  the  Empire,  but  also  the  great 
Republic  of  the  West,  he  suggested  the  appointment  of  an 
International  Commission  to  investigate  the  relations  of 
black  and  white  in  the  various  countries  in  which  they 
come  into  contact.  As  I  understood  Sir  Matthew,  his  idea 
was  that  the  Commission  should  collect  information  from 
all  sources,  investigate  on  the  spot  the  actual  results  so 
far  of  different  lines  of  policy,  and  of  varying  methods  of 
administration,  not  necessarily  to  formulate  rules  of  con- 
duct or  governmental  methods  applicable  to  all — but  for 
each  to  learn  from  the  experience,  successes,  and  failures 
of  others  how  best  to  deal  with  our  own  problems,  A 
wise  suggestion  indeed,  and  one  that  might  well  be  taken 
up  by  our  South  African  Government.  The  probability 
is  that  the  proposal  would  be  welcomed  by  other  Adminis- 
trations, puzzled,  and  groping  in  the  dark  as  all  are.  In 
any  case,  the  Report  of  such  a  Commission  should  have  a 
high  scientific  and  educational  value.  Even  if  on  attempt 
it  was  found  impossible  to  obtain  co-operation  from  other 
Governments,  our  problem  is  so  insistent,  that  a  visit 
of  investigation  by  a  chosen  body  of  qualified  South 
Africans  to  the  Southern  States  of  the  Union,  the  West 
Indies,  and  say  Liberia,  would  be  of  the  utmost  value  to  us 
in  South  Africa,  We  want  an  intimate  knowledge  of  our 
own  environment,  but  we  want  more  light  from  whatever 
source,  and  if  it  was  found  that  our  own  people  and  con- 
ditions were  so  dissimilar  that  we  had  little  to  learn  or 
adopt,  it  is  quite  possible  we  might  prevent  mistakes  being 
made. 

Of  late  years,  since  the  publication  of  the  Report  of 
the  South  African  Commission,  much  more  interest  has 


VULA'  MLOMO  ii 

been  taken  by  the  colonial  public  in  our  natives.  Follow- 
ing on  the  appearance  of  that  Report  came  the  unfortunate 
rising  in  Natal,  and  then  the  appointment  of  the  Natal 
Native  Commission  and  the  issue  of  their  Report.  Com- 
mittees for  the  study  of  native  affairs  have  been  formed 
in  Durban  and  Johannesburg  and  have  been  the  means  of 
disseminating  information  and  focussing  attention  on 
matters  affecting  the  native  population.  The  immediate 
effect  of  the  Report  of  the  Natal  Native  Commission  was 
the  passing  by  Parliament  of  the  Native  Adminstration 
Act  already  referred  to. 

All  this  interest  has  resulted  in  the  ventilation  of  the 
question  and  led  to  the  formation  of  many  theories,  hope- 
ful and  hopeless,  theoretical  and  practical,  wise  and  un- 
wise, theories  regarding  representation,  taxation,  labour, 
land,  segregation,  and  many  others,  with  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  I  propose  to  deal  later  on. 

And  will  all  this  talk  and  writing  and  thinking  solve 
the  problem  ?  The  phrases  "  The  solution  of  the  native 
question,"  certain  given  methods  which  will  "solve  the 
problem,"  are  on  many  lips.  But  is  there  any  solution  in 
which  the  term  is  thus  used  ?  Personally  I  confess  I  do 
not  think  so.  When  we  have  thought  until  our  brains 
are  weary,  made  experiments  resulting  in  partial  success 
or  failure,  and  the  years  have  passed,  we  shall  have  ac- 
quired some  experience  and  knowledge,  but  that  will 
probably  be  all.  We  white  men,  with  our  common  race 
consciousness,  common  ideals,  a  binding  history  and  litera- 
ture, still  are  groping  in  the  dark  in  regard  to  our  own 
social  problems.  How  little  likely  we  are  to  solve,  once 
for  all,  the  difficulties  of  our  relationship,  ever  changing 
as  it  is,  to  a  race  so  unlike  our  own,  it  takes  but  a  little 
thought  to  demonstrate. 

At  best  we  may  discover  a  working  hypothesis  for  to- 
day and  possibly  to-morrow,  tentative,  to  be  reconsidered 
and  altered  as  experience  dictates  and  as  conditions  change. 
Much  that  we  do  must  be  of  the  nature  of  experiment. 
We  are  dealing  with  human  nature,  but  human  nature  on 
such  a  different  plane  to  our  own. 


12    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Though  we  may  never  solve,  and  though  to  our 
children's  children  shall  the  problem  go  down,  it  must 
be  faced ;  and  there  are  conditions  of  mind  we  can  predi- 
cate as  absolutely  essential  to  the  task. 

The  first  is  negative,  and  means  an  attitude  of  suspicion 
towards  many  of  the  generalizations  current  in  South 
East  Africa  relative  to  the  black  man.  These  generaliza- 
tions have  become  current  and  accepted  as  standards,  often 
because  they  saved  troublesome  investigation  and  thought, 
often  they  were  almost  true  at  the  time  they  were  evolved, 
oftener  still  containing  a  half  truth,  but  utterly  false  and 
misleading  in  the  universal  application  which  is  given 
to  them.  Nothing  has  done  more  to  prevent  a  true  ap- 
preciation of  the  position  than  the  constant  reiteration  of 
these  misleading  commonplaces  prefaced  by  the  phrase  : 
"You  know  what  a  Kaffir  is". 

Truth  we  want,  and  truth  in  respect  to  fact  is  often 
hard  to  get.  Prejudice,  slackness,  mental  apathy,  the 
common  desire  to  appear  to  know,  with  the  equally 
common  desire  to  impart,  all  hinder  our  investigation.  A 
strict  scientific  test  should  be  applied,  and  only  such  facts 
passed  into  circulation  and  use  as  fully  satisfied  such  a 
test. 

In  putting  our  knowledge  into  practice  in  administra- 
tion, in  framing  legislation,  we  are  called  upon  to  strive 
to  the  utmost  to  attain  what  is  perhaps  the  impossible, 
to  put  ourselves  in  the  black  man's  place,  to  think  with 
his  brain,  to  see  with  his  e3'es,  to  feel  his  emotions.  To 
this  the  black  man  himself  can  help  us  but  little;  his  life 
is  in  the  present;  how  yesterday's  circumstances  affected 
him  he  may  be  able  to  tell,  how  the  pictured  environment 
of  to-morrow  may  be  regarded  he  leaves  to  to-morrow's 
experience.  Though  vocal  enough  on  ordinary  topics,  his 
strong  emotions  are  subconscious  and  inexpressible,  and 
are  only  subsequently  revealed  in  action  or  inaction.  He 
is  ever  on  the  watch  to  please  those  in  authority,  and  his 
"  Yes  "  may  often  really  be  a  "  No  ". 

Even  to  those  who  speak  his  language  as  their  own, 


VULA'  MLOMO  13 

who  have  lived  all  their  lives  in  daily  contact  with  the 
black  man,  there  seems  a  chasm  they  can  never  cross. 
In  discussions  of  measures  affecting  natives  in  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  of  Natal  there  were  often  as  many 
opinions  as  there  were  native  experts.  The  effect  of  a 
given  law  on  native  life  and  how  the  native  would  view 
it  was  certain  to  draw  forth  opinions  differing  in  essence. 
A  friend  of  mine,  born  in  Natal,  speaking  Zulu  fluently, 
who  had  never  lived  apart  from  the  natives  and  thought 
he  knew  their  innermost  minds,  confessed  after  the  native 
rebellion  of  1906  he  felt  as  ignorant  as  a  newcomer  to 
the  land. 

It  is  so  difficult  to  detach  oneself  from  the  point  of 
view  of  our  race  and  look  at  things  with  the  eyes  of  the 
other  man.  We  see  him  surrounded  by  what,  to  us,  would 
be  conditions  of  intense  discomfort,  and  we  feel  impelled 
to  cleanse,  disinfect,  put  things  straight,  and  having  done 
so  in  energetic  European  fashion,  we  expect  recognition 
and  gratitude,  whilst  all  the  time  the  native  was  quite 
satisfied,  and  not  in  the  least  bothered  or  bothering  about 
it,  and  wonders  why  we  should  interfere.  The  position 
thus  gets  askew.  We  feel  very  proud  of  ourselves  ;  we  have 
effected  salutary  reforms,  and  hope  for  visible  acknow- 
ledgment of  our  unselfish  and  altruistic  endeavours,  when 
perhaps  really,  if  we  probed  to  the  bottom  of  things, 
we  should  find  we  had  only  been  salving  our  consciences 
for  our  own  relief.  And  the  native,  of  course,  did  not 
recognize  that. 

Our  inability  to  put  ourselves  in  his  place  will  not  be 
wonderful  to  those  who  have  tried  to  get  at  the  ideas  on 
non-material  questions  with  some  of  those  of  our  own  race 
or  races  closely  akin  to  our  own.  Even  when  speaking  a 
common  language  there  is  a  strain  in  trying  to  get  at 
the  conceptions  of  one  whose  life  has  been  cast  in  a 
narrow  sphere.  Attempts  with  some  of  the  peasantry  of 
Donegal  and  Connemara  are  in  my  mind,  and  qualifies 
the  disappointment  at  failing  to  realize  the  subconscious- 
ness of  the  Abantu. 


14    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

But  the  attempt  must  be  made  and  remade,  if  even  a 
partial  measure  of  success  is  to  be  ours. 

And  there  must  be  that  quality,  rightly  insisted  upon 
by  all  successful  administrators  who  have  had  long  ex- 
perience of  backward  peoples,  and  especially  those  who 
have  watched  with  insight  the  reaction  of  mind  on  mind 
as  between  black  and  white. 

Slow  and  dull  as  the  native  may  appear  to  the  casual 
observer,  he  is  quick  to  notice  the  attitude  of  those  with 
whom  he  comes  into  contact ;  and  the  manner,  the  facial 
aspect,  the  tones  of  the  voice,  are  at  once  read  and  un- 
consciously interpreted  by  him  and  colour  his  attitude  to 
another.  The  white  man  who  establishes  and  retains  the 
regard  of  these  people  always  consciously  or  unconsciously 
recognizes  this,  and  in  it  often  lies  the  reason  why  one  man 
is  highly  regarded  and  trusted  by  them,  while  another,  for 
no  easily  apparent  reason,  never  obtains  their  confidence. 
The  underlying  reason  is  that  the  one  they  recognize  has 
sympathy  and  liking  for  them  and  this  feeling  is  absent 
in  the  other.  Without  sympathy  their  confidence  and 
liking  will  never  be  gained,  and  without  these  our  relations 
will  always  be  strained  and  unsatisfactory.  The  native 
does  not  look  for  maudlin  sentimentality  in  his  rulers ; 
he  expects  punishment  when  he  offends,  and  never  com- 
plains if  the  punishment  is  heavy;  he  does  expect  what 
he  conceives  to  be  justice,  is  quick  to  recognize  sympathy, 
and  does  instinctively  appreciate  the  great  but  sometimes 
subtle  and  indefinable  difference  between  a  strained 
tolerance  and  the  warmer  atmosphere  of  genuine  liking 
and  goodwill. 

I  have  said  enough  to  indicate  the  difficulties  of  our  in- 
vestigation and  of  its  application  to  practical  ends.  In 
Natal,  at  all  events,  we  have  had  long  periods  of  absolute 
inaction,  practically  ignoring  the  native,  and  then  one  or 
two  periods  of  short  duration  when  the  unexpected  shook 
us  up,  and  seeing  vaguely  as  through  a  mist  that  we  were 
drifting  on  to  the  rocks,  the  cry  was  "something  must  be 
done". 


VULA'  MLOMO  15 

But  I  strongly  deprecate  what  is  too  often  implied  in 
this  cry,  that  if  we  only  begin  to  do  "something,"  we 
can  again  rest  at  our  ease,  forget  the  problem,  salve  our 
consciences  by  our  unthinking  "  doing  of  something,"  and 
again  attend  to  our  all-absorbing  personal  affairs.  Not 
that  way  is  salvation  to  be  won. 

In  no  other  land  under  the  British  flag,  except, 
perhaps,  in  the  Far  East,  certainly  in  none  of  the  great 
self-governing  colonies  with  which  we  rank  ourselves,  is 
the  position  of  white  man  qua  white  man  so  high,  his 
status  so  impugnable,  as  in  South  East  Africa.  Differing 
in  much  else,  the  race  instinct  binds  the  whites  together 
to  demand  recognition  as  a  member  of  the  ruling  and  in- 
violable caste,  even  for  the  poorest,  the  degraded  of  their 
race.  And  this  position  connotes  freedom  from  all  manual 
and  menial  toil ;  without  hesitation  the  white  man  demands 
this  freedom,  without  question  the  black  man  accedes  and 
takes  up  the  burden,  obeying  the  race  command  of  one 
who  may  be  his  personal  inferior.  It  is  difficult  to  convey 
to  one  who  has  never  known  this  distinction  the  way  in 
which  the  very  atmosphere  is  charged  with  it  in  South 
East  Africa.  A  white  oligarchy,  every  member  of  the  race 
an  aristocrat ;  a  black  proletariat,  every  member  of  the 
race  a  server  ;  the  line  of  cleavage  as  clear  and  deep  as  the 
colours.  The  less  able  and  vigorous  of  our  race  thus  pro- 
tected, find  here  an  ease,  a  comfort,  a  recognition  to  which 
their  personal  worth  would  never  entitle  them  in  a  homo- 
geneous white  population. 

And  we  have  all  been  enjoying  this  ease,  comfort, 
power,  as  a  matter  of  course,  as  our  due.  But  in  this 
world  of  compensations,  of  forces  ever  tending  to  the 
balance,  we  cannot  simply  take  this  good  and  ignore  the 
responsibilities  which  ever  accompany  power.  Yet  this 
is  what  we  have  been  trying  to  do  ;  to  take  the  goods  and 
evade  payment.     It  will  not  do. 

We  must  face  the  question  though  it  means  hard 
thinking,  self-abnegation,  tolerance,  difficulty,  disappoint- 
jnent— a  heavy  strain  on  the  best  that  is  in  us.     Not  on 


i6    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

our  imports  and  exports,  not  on  increased  population,  not 
on  industrial  success,  good  as  all  these  may  be,  depends 
our  justification  for  having  taken  to  ourselves  this  land, 
but  on  the  measure  of  true  success  v^ith  which  we  deal 
with  this  people  who  are  given  into  our  hand.  And  this 
will  not  be  achieved  by  alternately  forgetting  they  exist, 
excepting  as  a  factor  in  our  industrialism,  and  then  sud- 
denly waking  up  to  **  do  something  ".  Constant  vigilance 
is  the  price  of  freedom.  Constant  vigilance  with  all  the 
qualities  I  have  tried  to  indicate  is  the  price  we  must  pay 
for  our  privileges.  The  deepest  thought  before  taking 
action,  closest  watchfulness  when  action  is  taken.  Con- 
stant sympathy,  unwavering  firmness,  must  ever  be 
shown. 

Never  hurry  and  never  forget,  always  present  before 
us. 

To  investigate  the  conditions  of  social  life  of  both  races 
as  they  have  developed  apart  and  as  they  are  modified  by 
interaction,  to  consider  the  general  course  to  be  adopted 
and  the  principles  by  which  we  should  be  guided,  is  the 
work  of  the  investigator,  of  the  student  of  sociology ; 
to  put  these  principles  into  actual  operation  is  the  function 
of  the  legislator  and  administrator.  For  the  actual  work 
of  administration  our  race  has  shown  capacity  beyond 
that  of  any  other  of  modern  times,  and  in  a  remarkable 
number  of  instances  we  have  managed  to  "muddle 
through  "  with  little  thought  or  plan.  But  every  year  we 
live,  our  conditions  get  more  involved  and  complicated,  and 
increasingly  and  in  all  spheres  of  activity  it  becomes 
apparent  that  if  we  are  to  grapple  successfully  with  these 
conditions  our  actions  must  be  based  on  right  and  accurate 
thinking,  on  the  application  of  scientific  methods.  Unless 
the  genius  of  our  race  fails  us  we  shall  find  the  men  in 
plenty  to  run  the  machine ;  what  we  want,  and  what  we 
have  so  often  failed  in  the  past  to  get,  is  a  rightly  adjusted 
machine. 

What  is  required  in  a  country  such  as  ours  is  a  body 
of  trained  investigators  to  study  with  scientific  accuracy 


VULA'  MLOMO  17 

the  primitive  races  of  the  land,  their  history,  ideals, 
religion,  customs,  myths,  and  place  it  on  record  before  it 
is  too  late,  before  altered  conditions  wipe  it  all  out.  In 
the  comparative  study  of  man  this  alone  will  have  a  high 
value,  but  for  a  true  appreciation  of  which  we  must  look 
to  our  children.  To-day  our  object  is  different,  we  want  to 
govern  these  people  justly,  amongst  whom  we  have  thrust 
ourselves ;  in  our  interest  and  in  theirs  we  want  to  do 
what  is  right,  to  face  our  responsibilities  like  men,  but  we 
hardly  know  how  to  go  about  it.  If  we  knew  what  was  in 
the  mind  of  the  black  man  we  should  be  greatly  helped, 
have  indeed  the  knowledge  for  lack  of  which  we  make  so 
many  blunders  in  our  practical  life.  In  its  ultimate 
analysis  the  subject  of  the  study  of  primitive  mankind 
by  anthropologists  is  his  mind  and  its  working  as  evidenced 
in  his  art,  culture,  religion,  social  life.  A  closer  and  more 
scientific  study  of  these  things  would  surely  help  us  some- 
what in  the  elucidation  of  our  problem. 

Along  with  those  whose  study  is  the  science  of  anthro- 
pology there  ought  to  be  associated  others  of  different 
training.  These  should  be  men  familiar  with  the  people  in 
their  daily  life,  knowing  their  difficulties,  grievances,  and 
wants,  men  who  come  in  touch  with  them,  who  know  them 
and  their  environment  intimately.  They  should  also  be 
acquainted  with  methods  of  government  and  administra- 
tion. If  these  practical  men  had  the  advantage  of  associa- 
tion with  others  whose  research  work  was  available  to 
them,  we  might  hope  to  have  science  applied  to  govern- 
ment. 

But  in  the  absence  of  such  a  scientific  method  of  deal- 
ing with  our  subject,  we  must  even  do  the  best  we  can, 
and  each,  in  the  measure  of  his  ability  and  knowledge  and 
the  call  of  his  conscience,  assist  in  the  elucidation  of  this 
great  subject. 

The  ideal  qualifications  for  dealing  with  the  whole 
native  problem  and  the  relation  of  Black  and  White  in 
South  Africa,  so  reading  the  present  as  to  give  a  forecast 
of  the  future  with  a  view  to  regulating  our  present  actions, 

2 


i8   BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

are  such  that  I  know  of  no  one  possessing  them,  no  one 
even  approximating  to  the  ideal.  It  seems  to  me  that  even 
when  we  restrict  the  area  to  South  East  Africa  it  would 
be  impossible  to  find  any  one  man  who  was  qualified. 
For  in  the  first  place  he  must  know  the  country  intimately, 
not  only  from  the  railway  and  on  the  main  roads,  but  its 
inner  recesses,  the  fastnesses  of  the  Berg  and  the 
miasmatic  flats  of  the  Maputa.  He  must  have  lived  the 
life  of  the  native  at  his  home,  must  speak  at  least  Zulu 
and  Sesuto,  have  a  knowledge  of  native  law  and  custom 
and  also  of  the  statutes  we  ourselves  have  imposed  upon 
them.  In  addition  to  knowing  the  native  in  his  home 
life,  he  must  know  how  he  lives  on  the  farms  as  tenant 
and  servant  to  the  white  man,  the  conditions  under  which 
he  works  on  the  mines  as  miner,  in  the  towns  as  labourer, 
kitchen  boy,  ricksha-puller.  The  result  of  missionary 
training  and  the  manner  of  life  and  conversation  of  the 
more  advanced  natives  must  also  be  familiar  to  him. 

And  to  be  fully  qualified  for  the  task  he  must  know 
the  white  man  as  well  as  the  black,  the  conditions  under 
which  the  various  classes,  bywoner,  pastoralist,  artisan, 
planter,  merchant,  live  in  South  East  Africa,  and  be  able 
from  actual  knowledge  to  compare  it  with  what  the  en- 
vironment and  life  of  similar  classes  would  be  in  Canada, 
Australia,  Britain,  and  especially  the  Southern  States  of 
America.  Add  to  this  a  wide  course  of  reading  on  sociolo- 
gical and  anthropological  subjects,  a  mind  of  the  philoso- 
phic bent  and  a  keen  interest  in  the  subject,  and  it  will 
be  seen  how  much  is  necessary  to  the  man  who  would 
essay  to  deal  with  our  subject. 

It  is  with  great  diffidence  I  again  approach  my 
fellow  colonists  on  this  subject,  fully  aware  of  how  far  I 
fall  short  of  the  standard  I  have  myself  set.  But  I  can 
claim,  at  least,  the  last-named  qualification — a  keen  interest 
in  the  subject.  And  though  failing  to  a  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent in  many  personal  desiderata,  I  have  had  exceptional 
opportunities  of  late  years.  The  first-hand  knowledge 
acquired  during  the  long  sittings  of  the  Natal  Native  Com- 


VULA'  MLOMO  19 

mission  has  been  of  great  value,  and  the  experience  of  the 
working  of  administration  on  the  Natal  Native  Council 
has  also  been  exceptional. 

If  one  relied  only  on  knowledge  actually  acquired  by 
personal  observation  and  at  first  hand  few  of  us  would 
know  much  of  the  subject.  We  all  acquire  from  others, 
and  much  depends  on  the  judgment  in  selecting,  accept- 
ing, or  rejecting  such  second-hand  knowledge.  I  have  had 
largely  to  depend  upon  information  supplied  by  others, 
conversations  with  men  from  all  parts  of  South  East 
Africa,  and  much  of  my  work  is  collating  or  editing  what 
I  have  received.  But  I  have  been  careful  in  sifting,  and 
may  claim  that  a  residence  of  over  thirty-five  years  in 
South  East  Africa,  opportunities  of  meeting  men  of  all 
classes,  of  varied  experience,  and  all  shades  of  opinion, 
journeyings  that  have  taken  me  over  most  of  the 
territory  with  which  I  deal  even  to  its  utmost  recesses, 
living  in  the  kraal  of  the  native,  the  home  of  the  farmer, 
in  the  caves  of  the  Drakensberg,  and  in  the  wagon  tent, 
have  given  me  some  fitness  for  the  task.  But  I  ask  con- 
sideration of  my  reader;  we  are  all  feeling  our  way.  If 
my  facts  are  incorrect  or  my  judgments  at  fault  I  will 
willingly  acknowledge  and  correct.  The  truth  is  all  I 
seek. 

It  is  usual  to  speak  of  the  position  of  the  native,  his 
government,  and  our  general  relation  to  him  as  a  problem, 
and  to  speak  of  the  intricacy,  difficulty,  even  in  our  optim- 
istic moments,  of  the  solution  of  this  problem.  But  what 
do  we  actually  mean  by  it  ?  To  different  men  and  minds  it 
means  a  different  thing.  To  the  missionary  the  problem 
means  finding  the  best  method  of  converting  to  Christi- 
anity .the  whole  native  population  irrespective  of  their 
material  or  political  position.  To  the  industrialist  the 
problem  would  be  solved  if  he  got  sufficient  labour  at  such 
rates  as  would  enable  him  to  make  profits,  to  the  legislator 
quietude  on  the  part  of  the  people  so  that  no  political 
trouble  or  agitation  should  be  possible,  but  without  much 
regard  to  their  race  advancement. 


20  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

I  feel  I  must  make  an  attempt  to  make  clear  what  I 
have  meant  when  using  the  term  in  this  introductory 
chapter,  and  what  it  implies  when  I  use  it  later  on, 

I  will  put  it  first  as  a  statement. 

To  so  act  in  our  relations  with  the  natives  and  so  guide 
them  that  they  may  have  all  reasonable  opportunity  for 
developing  their  race  life  along  the  best  lines,  taking 
account  of  their  physical,  mental,  and  moral  improvement ; 
not  necessarily  following  the  line  of  evolution  of  the  white 
man,  but  the  one  their  race  genius  suggests.  And  that 
we,  while  so  acting,  shall  also  have  an  opportunity  of  de- 
velopment, and  be  not  subject  as  a  race  to  deteriorating 
tendencies  which  may  be  present  in  our  race  environ- 
ment. 

Let  me  put  it  as  a  question. 

Is  it  possible  for  a  white  race,  whose  race  aspiration 
is  the  utmost  economic  development  of  the  country  in 
which  they  live,  and  every  effective  member  of  which  is 
filled  with  a  desire  to  acquire  and  advance,  to  live  with  a 
black  one,  to  whom  the  aspirations  and  efforts  of  the 
white  do  not  appeal,  and  yet  so  adjust  the  life  of  each  that 
both  shall  be  content  with  the  position,  and  the  black  have 
all  reasonable  opportunities  for  such  development  as  is 
possible  to  him  ? 

If  this  question  could  be  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
and  methods  that  would  ensure  its  realization  be  put  into 
operation  at  once,  the  optimist  might  be  justified  and  a 
solution  possible.  We  cannot  to-day  answer  it.  Time  will 
do  that ;  but  we  may,  I  think,  honestly  hope  by  our  actions 
to  mould  events  towards  this  end  ;  we  may  be  so  fortunate 
as  that  in  the  comparatively  near  future,  the  native  popu- 
lation may  become  contented  citizens  of  the  State,  helping, 
though  in  a  humble  way,  to  build  up  its  future,  assured 
of  fair  play  in  the  present  and  hope  for  the  future. 

My  aim  in  writing  this  book  is  not  only  to  give  my 
views  on  the  native,  his  present  and  possible  future,  and 
what  our  attitude  should  be  to  him,  which  is  vastly  import- 
ant ;  but  I  attempt  more,  and  I  trust  what  I  may  say  under 


VULA'  MLOMO  21 

this  head  may  be  of  some  interest  and  possibly  of  some 
value.  No  thoughtful  South  African  can  but  be  interested 
in  the  native  question  as  I  have  so  far  put  it  from  the 
native  side,  but  many  must  also  have  thought  of  what 
effect  our  unusual  environment — the  present  and  close  con- 
tact of  an  overwhelming  number  of  blacks — has  had,  and 
is  going  to  have,  upon  our  race.  What  of  the  future  of  the 
white  man  in  South  East  Africa?  It  is  stated  by 
biologists  who  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  theory  of 
evolution  as  applied  to  man,  that,  though  in  past  time  the 
struggle  for  actual  existence,  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
and  the  elimination  of  the  unfit,  affected  the  evolution  of 
our  species  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  lower  animals,  the 
operation  of  these  causes  is  held  in  abeyance  since  man 
became  civilized.  In  a  state  of  society  in  which  the  law 
of  natural  selection  is  prevented  by  conscious  altruism 
from  having  its  full  effect,  the  unfit  as  well  as  the  fit  have 
a  chance  of  propagating  the  species.  Indeed,  owing  to 
conditions  which  are  only  operative  in  complex  civiliza- 
tions, it  would  appear  that  the  effective  fertility  of  the 
former  is  greater  than  that  of  the  latter.  Then  it  becomes 
that  the  two  most  important  causes  left,  which  mould  and 
change  the  race,  are  environment  and  education.  It  is 
hardly  likely  that  the  surroundings  which  we  have  in  South 
East  Africa,  affecting  our  daily  lives  at  all  points  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave,  will  not  profoundly  affect  our  race 
characteristics. 

To  try  to  read  these  changes  whether  for  good  or  ill,  so 
that  we  may  tend  the  former  and  modify  or  eradicate  the 
latter,  is  part  of  our  problem. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE. 

The  country  with  which  I  am  dealing  and  which  I  call 
South  East  Africa,  was,iuntil  recently,  not  a  single  political 
entity  but  formed  portions  of  several  distinct  states,  and 
is  all  now,  either  part  of  the  Union  of  South  Africa,  or 
areas  under  the  immediate  governance  of  the  Imperial 
authorities,  and  consists  of  country  of  varying  aspect, 
altitude,  climate,  and  fertility.  It  consists  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Natal  including  Zululand,  the  country  on  the 
Eastern  side  of  the  Drakensberg,  the  mountains  which 
form  the  backbone  and  watershed  of  South  East  Africa. 
This  mighty  range  in  Natal  attains  its  greatest  elevation 
of  1 1, GOO  feet  in  the  Mont  aux  Sources  and  Cathkin  Peak, 
while  the  general  height  of  the  range  in  Natal  must  be 
9000  to  10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  From  their  sources  in 
the  Drakensberg  many  rivers  run  eastward  carrying  their 
waters  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  furrowing  the  land  with 
deep  valleys  of  erosion,  often  one  to  two  or  even  three 
thousand  feet  below  the  grassy  tablelands  which  separate 
the  one  from  the  next.  The  distance  from  the  crest  of 
the  Berg  to  the  Indian  Ocean  is  probably  only  an  average 
of  120  miles  as  the  vulture  flies,  so  these  rivers  are  short 
and  exceedingly  rapid,  having  a  fall  of  10,000  feet  in  this 
short  distance.  Thus  Natal  is  a  land  of  hills  and  valleys, 
sometimes  smoothly  rolling,  again  rugged  and  precipitous, 
the  hills  and  slopes  grass  covered,  clothed  with  forest  in 
the  kloofs,  abundantly  watered  by  rain  and  often  sheeted 
in  mist,  whilst  the  deep  river  valleys,  locally  called  the 
Thorns,  are  comparatively  dry  with  a  picturesque  cover- 
ing of  mimosas  and  aloes,  thorny  or  succulent,  adapted  to 

33 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  23 

resist  the  more  arid  conditions.  A  lovely  land  of  striking 
and  varied  beauty,  soft  yet  healthy  climate,  an  ideal  home 
for  the  Abantu,  and  one  for  which  his  soul  hungers 
when  in  exile.  In  all  portions  of  it  are  to  be  seen  the 
brown  huts  of  the  natives,  under  the  shelter  of  the 
Drakensberg,  on  the  open  breezy  ridges  of  the  Midlands, 
in  the  deep  Thorn  valleys,  and  in  view  of  the  surf  on  the 
shores  of  the  Indian  Ocean. 

In  the  north-eastern  portion  of  the  land  is  the  cradle 
of  the  Zulu  race,  and  over  the  whole  of  it  the  people  are 
closely  allied  to  the  Amazulu.  Under  the  Berg  here  and 
there  are  a  few  Basuto,  and  there  is  a  considerable  number 
of  these  people  in  the  Nqutu  district  in  the  upper  part  of 
Zululand  who  were  introduced  there  under  their  chief 
Hlubi  in  the  settlement  after  the  Zulu  war.  But  these  do 
not  affect  the  vast  mass,  who  are  either  of  the  remnant 
who  survived  in  the  land  during  Tyaka's  bloody  reign, 
hiding  away  in  caves  and  among  rocks,  or  those  who 
swarmed  in  from  Zululand,  finding  Natal  a  safe  refuge 
during  the  many  troubles  of  that  country. 

There  is  no  marked  difference  in  the  natural  features 
of  the  country  as  we  cross  the  rivers  Umzimkulu  and 
Umtamvuna  which  form  the  boundary  between  Natal  and 
the  province  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  Drakens- 
berg, though  not  so  lofty,  is  still  the  boundary  on  the  west, 
the  Indian  Ocean  to  the  east.  The  land  preserves  its 
general  character  through  Griqualand  East,  Pondoland, 
and  the  Transkei,  which  is  the  portion  of  the  Cape  Colony 
with  which  we  deal.  It  is  thickly  populated  with  natives, 
all  akin,  but  of  different  tribes.  In  the  north  are  the 
Amabaca,  Amahlangweni  and  Amaxesibi.  Along  the 
coast  the  Amapondo,  further  south  the  Tembus,  Xosas  and 
Fingoes  ;  the  last  named  the  descendants  of  refugees  from 
Natal  who  fled  south  in  the  early  years  of  last  century. 
All  these  are  closely  related  to  the  Amazulu.  In  the 
upper  parts  of  the  territory  close  under  the  Drakensberg 
live  some  tribes  of  Basuto. 

Crossing  the  Drakensberg    at    the  northern  apex  of 


24   BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Natal,  where  the  Amajuba  and  Pogwani  crests  overlook 
Lang's  Nek,  we  enter  the  high  veldt  of  the  Transvaal,  a 
succession  of  rolling  grassy  downs  5000  to  6500  feet 
above  the  sea,  open,  cool,  healthy,  bracing.  This  is 
not  the  country  the  native  chooses,  he  loves  the  sheltered 
warm  valleys  below  the  mountain,  and  few  natives  except 
those  in  the  service  of  the  farmers  live  on  this  exposed 
tableland.  Below  the  plateau  to  the  eastward  is  a  broken 
country  similar  to  Natal  in  its  natural  features,  and  here 
live  many  Abantu,  all  of  Zulu  strain,  many  related  to  the 
Swazi  branch  of  that  stock.  North  of  a  line  drawn  ap- 
proximately along  the  railway  from  Pretoria  to  Delagoa 
Bay  the  high  veldt  merges  into  a  different  country.  Here 
one  enters  the  bush  veldt  of  the  Boers,  a  vast  area  of  more 
or  less  flat  country  covered  with  bush  and  subject  to  arid 
conditions,  with  here  and  there  areas  of  greater  elevation 
and  a  much  more  humid  climate.  Much  of  this  country, 
especially  that  below  the  level  of  three  thousand  feet,  is 
subject  to  fever,  and  it  is  here  the  greater  portion  of 
the  Transvaal  natives  reside.  They  are  principally  of  the 
Basuto  side  of  the  Abantu  stock  as  distinguished  from  the 
Zulu-Xosa  side,  but  among  them  are  the  only  black  people 
now  existing  in  South  East  Africa  who  are  not  close  blood 
relations  of  one  branch  or  other  of  the  Abantu.  These 
people  are  the  degraded  Vaalpens  Kaffirs  of  the  far  north. 
Whom  they  are,  whether  the  true  autochthones  of  the 
country  or  not,  we  cannot  answer  at  present.  As  a 
factor  in  our  present  inquiry  they  may  be  considered  part 
of  the  Bechuana  or  Basuto  people  of  the  Northern  Trans- 
vaal. 

A  considerable  number  of  natives  also  live  in  the 
Western  Transvaal  in  the  Rustenbergand  Marico  districts 
who  also  belong  to  the  Basuto  group. 

East  of  the  Transvaal  and  below  the  escarpment  which 
is  the  continuation  of  the  Drakensberg  lies  Swaziland, 
a  broken  country  not  dissimilar  to  the  midland  portions 
of  Natal,  though  hotter,  hardly  so  healthy,  and  less  fertile. 
The  Swazi  people  are  somewhat  mixed  in  race,  a  Zulu 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  25 

strain  mixed  with  some  peoples  inhabiting  Portuguese 
East  Africa. 

Now  it  only  remains  to  mention  the  Switzerland  of 
South  Africa — Basutoland.  A  large  part  is  formed  of  the 
mountainous  knot  culminating  in  Mont  aux  Sources,  from 
which  the  waters  run  east  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  west 
to  the  Atlantic.  The  higher  parts  of  the  country  on  the 
eastern  side  are  cold,  inhospitable  mountain  moorlands, 
and  are  practically  uninhabited,  but  the  western  side 
abutting  on  the  Orange  River  Colony,  though  elevated,  is 
fertile,  well  watered,  and  healthy  for  stock  of  all  kinds  in 
which  the  inhabitants,  the  Basuto,  are  rich  probably  beyond 
any  other  native  people  of  South  East  Africa.  The  whole 
population  is  akin  in  blood,  descent,  and  language,  though 
originally  belonging  to  different  tribes  of  Bechuana  strain 
who  lived  in  the  country  to  the  west,  but  fled  into 
Basutoland  as  a  refuge  in  the  troublous  times  at  the 
beginning  of  last  century.  Here  they  were  united  in  one 
nation,  the  Basuto,  by  the  genius  of  Moshesh  their  great 
chief,  who  by  valour  and  diplomacy,  as  occasion  required, 
kept  invaders  at  bay,  and  they  remain  to-day  the  only 
unconquered  and  independent  Abantu  tribe  in  South  East 
Africa. 

The  Abantu  people  of  South  East  Africa  can,  as 
I  have  indicated,  be  divided  into  two  great  groups, 
the  Zulu-Xosa  group  which  includes  the  great  bulk  of 
the  natives  of  Natal,  Zululand,  Swaziland,  and  the 
Transkei ;  and  the  Basuto-Bechuana  group,  which  occupies 
Basutoland  and  the  North  and  West  Transvaal.  Not- 
withstanding the  wars  and  migrations  which  have  taken 
place  since  we  first  became  acquainted  with  these  people, 
the  geographical  distribution  is  approximately  what 
it  was  sixty  to  seventy  years  ago,  the  Zulu  strain  keep- 
ing to  the  seaward  side  of  the  great  mountain  range,  the 
Basuto  to  the  interior  and  west  of  the  Drakensberg. 
Though  undoubtedly  nearly  related — probably  both  de- 
scended from  one  aboriginal  stock — these  two  branches 
of  the  Abantu  differ  in  language,  character,  and  mode  of 


26   BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

living.  The  Zulu  is,  or  was  in  the  past,  more  warlike 
than  the  Basuto,  more  devoted  to  pastoral  pursuits 
and  less  to  agriculture,  less  industrious  and  not  so  ad- 
vanced in  some  of  the  arts.  The  Zulu  lived  in  the  simple 
beehive-shaped  hut  with  the  roof  and  wall  in  one,  the 
Basuto  in  one  with  mud  or  stone  walls  and  thatched  roof. 
The  Zulu  fought  with  assegai  alone,  the  throwing  variety 
before  the  time  of  Tyaka,  the  stabbing  kind  after  that ; 
the  Basuto  with  a  greater  variety  of  weapons,  including 
highly  finished  battle-axes.  Although  there  is  a  generic 
resemblance  between  the  two  peoples,  there  are  differences 
difficult  to  describe  but  appreciable  to  the  trained  eye, 
just  as  there  are  differences  between  typical  examples 
of  English  and  Scotch  or  perhaps  better  still  between 
Englishman  and  German.  If  a  hundred  Zulus  were  mixed 
with  a  hundred  Basuto,  a  European  knowing  both  people 
well  would  probably  be  able  to  pick  out  with  accuracy 
from  their  appearance  and  manner  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
more  typical  examples  of  each  tribe,  but  would  be  much 
puzzled  with  a  residuum  which  might  belong  to  either. 
Possibly  a  native  with  the  same  intimate  knowledge  of 
both  would  be  able  to  go  further  and  leave  a  smaller 
residuum.  Europeans  not  born  in  South  Africa,  but 
coming  to  the  country  as  adults,  are  aware  of  the  difficulty 
they  have  at  first  in  distinguishing  one  native  from  another. 
All  seem  alike  in  their  blackness,  and  only  after  a  time  is 
the  eye  able  to  discriminate.  But  the  general  resemblance 
between  these  two  branches  is  great,  they  also  resemble 
each  other  in  their  fundamental  characteristics,  and  much 
that  is  said  in  the  following  pages  will  apply  to  both, 
though  when  it  is  necessary  to  draw  a  distinction  an 
attempt  will  be  made  to  indicate  it, 

I  have  spoken,  and  shall  speak,  of  the  Abantu  people 
of  South  East  Africa  as  black,  a  useful  generic  term  to 
distinguish  them  from  Europeans,  but  they  are  not  by 
any  means  of  one  shade  of  colour.  They  range  from  a 
light  and  not  very  pleasant  yellow  shade  to  a  dull  sooty 
black,  but  the  majority  of  true  Zulus,  at  all  events,  are  a 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  27 

bronze  brown  often  with  a  tinge  of  red  showinfj  through 
it.  When  thoroughly  washed  and  duly  anointed  there  is 
a  peculiar  richness  about  this  colour  which  makes  the 
somewhat  anaemic  colour  of  town-bred  Europeans  look 
sickly  by  comparison.  The  colour  I  refer  to  may  be  seen 
in  the  native  policemen  and  ricksha-pullers  of  Durban, 
nearly  all  of  whom  are  of  Zulu  strain  and  whose  magnifi- 
cent limbs  shining  like  those  of  a  bronze  statue  are  so 
much  admired  by  visitors. 

Nor  is  the  general  facial  expression  uniform.  It  is 
often  more  or  less  negroid,  though  the  typical  flat  nose 
and  thick  lips  which  we  associate  with  the  negro  are  not 
common.  Many  have  fine,  well-cut  features,  and  one  is 
sometimes  startled  by  a  physiognomy  of  striking  character 
or  attractiveness.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
members  of  the  Zulu  Royal  House  are  impressed  with 
the  extreme  symmetry  of  form  and  distinction  of  feature 
and  manner  which  belong  to  many  of  them.  I  remember 
in  the  old  days  of  the  Zulu  monarchy  these  characteristics 
were  recognized  by  many  of  the  old  traders,  and  I  was 
struck  by  the  almost  respectful  way  in  which  they  spoke 
of  the  House,  and  in  later  times  I  have  seen  quite  enough 
of  them  to  understand  the  attitude  of  the  European  in 
Zululand  towards  the  Zulu  aristocracy. 

In  physique,  physical  vigour,  and  power  of  endurance 
they  undoubtedly  rank  high,  whether  as  compared  with 
any  other  primitive  people  or  with  Europeans.  I  must, 
however,  make  a  distinction  here.  The  Zulus,  the  Trans- 
keian  natives,  and  the  Basuto  of  Basutoland,  are 
undoubtedly  finer  men  than  the  Basuto  clans  of  the 
Northern  Transvaal,  and  probably  the  order  in  which  the 
several  peoples  should  be  placed  in  this  respect  is  that  in 
which  I  have  written  them  down.  The  Maories  of  New 
Zealand  are  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest  races 
physically  with  which  we  have  come  into  contact,  but  ni}' 
observations  lead  me  to  think  that  they  would  come  out 
second  in  this  respect  to  the  pure  Zulu.  A  really  fine 
Zulu  is  a  magnificent  specimen  of  a  man,  often  perfectly 


28    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

built  judged  from  a  European,  aye,  even  from  an  ancient 
Greek  standard ;  deep  chest,  broad  shoulders,  perfectly 
shaped  limbs,  well-shaped  hands  and  feet,  certainly  with- 
without  any  sign  of  the  'Mark  heel  "  of  the  negro.  The 
general  physical  standard  of  the  race  is  also  very  high  in- 
deed. Dwellers  in  towns  are  often  deceived  in  this  respect 
because  the  specimens  of  the  race  they  see  are  in  a  false 
setting.  Clothed  at  best  in  cheap,  ill-fitting,  ready-made 
clothes,  and  often  in  odds  and  ends  cast  off  by  the  white 
man,  their  really  fine  figures  are  masked  and  they  look  like 
slouching  bundles  of  rags.  But  take  a  number  of  store 
boys  or  wharf  labourers,  strip  and  clean  them  and  put 
them  in  their  natural  surroundings,  and  I  am  sure  a  judge 
of  physical  form  would  wonder  at  the  high  average 
standard  of  these  men.  Very  few  are  malformed,  a  fine 
torso  and  beautifully  rounded  limbs  belong  to  nearly  all. 
It  is  true,  they  are  not,  as  a  rule,  so  apparently  muscular 
as  the  highly  developed  European,  the  typical  blacksmith 
or  navvy,  but  these  are  exceptions  among  us,  whilst 
excellent  physique  is  the  rule  among  the  natives.  It 
is  often  said  that,  admitting  all  this,  they  are  unable  to 
perform  feats  of  strength  possible  to  Europeans,  but  the 
feats  set  to  them  are  generally  the  speciality  of  some  ex- 
ceptional European  who  has  learned  the  peculiar  knack 
necessary  ;  this  is  quite  unknown  to  the  native,  who  is  also 
probably  very  diffident  and  does  not  put  forth  his  full 
power,  and  his  inability,  under  these  circumstances,  is 
quoted  as  an  instance  of  lack  of  physical  strength.  I 
know  personally  of  so  many  feats  of  strength  and  endur- 
ance (particularly  the  latter)  performed  as  a  matter  of 
course  both  by  specially  endowed  and  average  natives  that 
I  rank  their  powers  in  this  respect  very  high  indeed. 

I  have  laid  stress  on  this  matter  of  physique  and 
general  physical  power  because  it  is  the  basis  of  much, 
and  a  true  judgment  is  necessary  as  it  will  affect  our 
general  estimate  of  the  people,  their  capabilities  and  their 
future,  and  also  because  I  feel  that  many  Europeans, 
partly   through   faulty  observation,  partly  through   race 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  29 

pride,  have  made  and  circulated  quite  a  false  estimate  of 
their  powers. 

In  mental  capacity  I  think  they  vary  more  than  in 
physical  power.  Their  mode  of  life  and  the  elimination 
of  the  unfit  in  their  natural  surroundings  tended  to  a  high 
general  average  of  the  latter.  There  has  been  little  or  no 
demand  on  the  intellect  of  the  average  native,  neither 
livelihood  nor  position  depended  on  mental  exertion,  the 
dullard  had  as  much  chance  of  leaving  a  numerous  ofif- 
spring  as  the  man  of  more  than  average  mental  alertness 
or  capacity.  One  often  hears  among  colonists,  even  those 
who  have  a  poor  opinion  of  the  general  capacity  of  the 
native,  of  some  particular  individual  they  have  known  who 
has  shown  wonderful  aptitude  for  a  particular  kind  of  work 
or  general  ability  or  trustworthiness.  "As  good  as  a 
white  man  "  is  the  phrase  not  infrequently  heard  in  this 
connexion.  I  am  acquainted  with  one  man  employed  by 
a  well-known  colonist  who  has  shown  extraordinary 
mechanical  ability  and  carried  out  some  quite  wonderful 
feats  of  engineering  skill.  Many  of  the  old  families  in 
Natal  have  servants  who  have  worked  for  them  for  years, 
who  are  not  only  capable  of  some  particular  form  of 
service  but  who  can  be  trusted  to  exercise  much  discretion 
and  judgment  when  occasion  demands.  I  am  not  referring 
to  educated  natives  but  to  raw  or  kraal  natives,  as  1  wish, 
just  at  present,  to  consider,  and  try  to  form  an  estimate  of, 
the  natural  ability  of  these  people. 

It  is  customary  to  take  as  a  measure  of  mental  capacit}' 
the  position  held  by  a  people  in  the  arts  of  life,  their  in- 
tellectual calibre  being  gauged  by  their  acquaintance  with, 
and  use  of,  tools,  weapons,  utensils,  clothing,  ornaments ; 
the  nearer  they  approach  to  our  complicated  standard  in 
these  things  the  more  mentally  gifted  we  regard  them. 
But  such  a  judgment  may  be  altogether  misleading,  and 
I  think  may  be  so  shown  in  many  concrete  cases.  Set 
against  such  a  standard  our  natives  would  be  regarded  as 
having  but  little  natural  capacity,  would  be  relegated  to  a 
position  far  lov/er  than  that  to  which  they  are  entitled,  for 


30  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

their  homes  are  grass  huts,  their  only  weapon  a  futile 
assegai,  their  utensils  a  few  simple  crocks  or  wooden 
vessels,  and  their  clothing,  at  best,  a  few  skins.  Compared 
with  the  complicated  contrivances  of  the  white  man  they 
are  ridiculously  simple,  but  some  of  us  who  know  these 
people,  are  aware  that  when  their  innate  ability  is  com- 
pared with  that  of  many  men  using  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  civilization  the  difference  is  nothing  like  so  great  as 
would  be  indicated  by  this  test. 

The  Highlanders  of  the  West  and  Islands  often,  even 
at  the  present  day,  live  in  hovels  little  better  than  native 
huts  ;  until  recent  years  their  agricultural  implements  and 
utensils  were  of  the  most  primitive  kind,  many  of  the  arts 
were  unknown  to  them,  and  yet  no  one  can  question  the 
very  high  standard  of  natural  ability  among  these  people. 
The  sons  of  many  a  crofter  who  did  not  know  the  use  of 
a  plough,  have  taken  high  and  distinguished  places  among 
the  servants  of  Empire.  And  so  of  the  peasantry  of  the 
west  of  Ireland.  Their  material  condition  was  and  is 
often  below  that  of  our  natives,  and  their  knowledge  of  the 
arts  and  use  of  implements  and  tools  is  extremely  limited. 
Few,  however,  would  claim  a  higher  standard  of  mentality 
for  the  clerk  or  artisan  living  in  a  city  and  using  all  the 
most  recent  appliances  of  civilization,  than  that  present, 
latent  though  it  be,  in  the  Connemara  peasant.  Give  him  a 
chance  in  other  surroundingsand  he  displays  all  the  bright- 
ness, quickness,  and  adaptability  of  his  race. 

And  we  must  remember,  that  many  of  those  who  pass 
judgment  on  our  natives  only  see  them  under  great  disad- 
vantages. They  are  in  the  unfamiliar  surroundings  of  a 
town,  taking  part  in  a  life  they  cannot  comprehend,  ex- 
pected to  work  for  an  end  they  do  not  understand,  and  with 
tools  they  have  never  seen  before.  The  wonder  is,  not  that 
they  appear  stupid,  but  that  they  even  manage  as  well  as 
they  usually  do.  Let  the  town-bred  European  who  has 
condemned  them  as  stupid  and  unintelligent,  go  into  the 
wilds  attended  only  by  them,  without  the  manifold  helps 
and  contrivances  of  civilization,  which  were  not  invented 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  31 

or  designed  by  him  but  by  the  accumulated  efforts  of 
thousands  of  his  progenitors,  and  he  will,  I  aver,  often 
be  surprised  at  the  knowledge,  the  resource,  the  judgment, 
the  memory — in  short,  the  mental  ability  and  equipment 
of  those  who  appeared  so  dense  and  stupid  in  the  town. 

In  some  directions  they  have  abilities  which  have  been 
recognized  by  all  who  have  known  them  well,  a  power 
of  reasoned  argument  which  is  often  surprising,  a  gift  of 
selecting  the  essential  in  the  case  and  rejecting  what  is  of 
no  import,  unless  indeed  it  suits  their  purpose  to  ex- 
aggerate and  use  forensic  dodges.  They  are  born  orators 
and  have  a  surprising  gift  of  language.  Their  laws  and 
social  customs,  though  simple,  are  admirably  fitted  for 
the  life  they  lead,  and  certainly  indicate  a  power  of 
adapting  means  to  ends  that  is  by  no  means  of  a  low  order. 

In  support  of  my  statement  that  the  Abantu  have  a 
wonderful  power  of  expression  and  reasoned  argument,  I 
give  the  following  quotation  from  Rev.  William  C.  Hol- 
den's  work  on  "  The  Past  and  Future  of  the  Kaffir  Races  ". 
He  quotes  Mr.  Dugmore,  a  competent  authorit}-,  who 
thus  describes  a  native  lawsuit : — 

"  Then  comes  the  tug  of  war.  The  ground  is  disputed 
inch  by  inch ;  every  assertion  is  contested ;  objection 
meets  objection,  and  question  is  opposed  by  counter- 
question,  each  disputant  endeavouring,  v^^ith  surprising 
adroitness,  to  throw  the  burden  of  answering  on  his  op- 
ponent. The  Socratic  method  of  debate  appears  in  all 
its  perfection,  both  parties  being  equally  versed  in  it. 
The  rival  advocates  warm  as  they  proceed,  sharpening 
each  other's  intellect  and  kindling  each  other's  ardour, 
till,  from  the  passions  that  seem  enlisted  in  the  contest,  a 
stranger  might  suppose  the  interests  of  the  nation  to  be 
at  stake  and  dependent  upon  the  position. 

"  When  these  combatants  have  spent  their  strength,  or 
one  of  them  is  overcome  in  argument,  others  step  in  to  the 
rescue.  The  battle  is  fought  over  again  on  different 
ground,  some  point,  either  of  law  or  evidence,  that  has 
been  kept  purposely  in  abeyance,  being  now  brought  for- 


32   BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  x^FRICA 

ward  and  perhaps  the  entire  aspect  of  the  case  changed. 
The  whole  of  the  second  day  is  frequently  taken  up  with 
this  intellectual  gladiatorship,  and  it  closes  without  any 
other  result  than  an  exhibition  of  the  relative  strength  of 
the  opposing  parties.  The  plaintiff's  company  retire 
again  and  the  defendant  and  his  friends  review  the  posi- 
tion. Should  they  feel  that  they  have  been  worsted  and 
that  the  case  is  one  that  cannot  be  successfully  defended, 
they  attempt  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  conclusion  by  an 
offer  of  the  smallest  satisfaction  the  law  allows.  This  is 
usually  refused,  in  expectation  of  an  advance  in  the  offer, 
which  takes  place  generally  in  proportion  to  the  defen- 
dant's anxiety  to  prevent  an  appeal.  Should  the  plaintiff 
accede  to  the  proposed  terms,  they  are  fulfilled ;  and  the 
case  is  closed    by  a  formal  declaration  of  acquiescence. 

'*  If,  however,  as  frequently  happens,  the  case  involves 
a  number  of  intricate  questions  that  afford  room  for 
quibble,  the  debates  are  renewed  day  by  day,  till  the 
plaintiff  determines  to  appeal  to  the  Umpakati  who  has 
charge  of  the  neighbouring  district.  He  proceeds  with 
his  array  of  advocates  to  his  kraal  and  the  case  is  restated 
in  his  presence.  The  defendant  confronts  him,  and  the 
whole  affair  is  gone  into  again  on  an  enlarged  scale  of 
investigation.  The  history  of  the  case,  the  history  of  the 
events  which  led  up  to  it,  collateral  circumstances,  jour- 
neyings,  visits,  conversations,  bargains,  exchanges,  gifts, 
promises,  threatenings,  births,  marriages,  deaths,  that 
were  taken,  made,  given  or  occurred  in  connexion  with 
either  of  the  contending  parties,  or  their  associates,  or 
their  relatives  of  the  present  or  past  generations,  all  come 
under  review ;  and  before  the  Court  of  Appeal  has  done 
with  the  affair,  the  history,  external  and  internal,  of  a 
dozen  families  for  the  past  ten  years  is  made  the  subject 
of  conflicting  discussion." 

The  fact  is  that  up  to  the  present  time,  their  whole 
outlook  on  life  has  been  the  antithesis  of  ours,  and  even  now 
they  are  not  prepared  to  accept  our  view  of  life  as  better 
than  theirs.     To  the  average  native  the  toils  and  worries 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  33 

of  the  average  European  for  his  average  ends  are  incom- 
prehensible. For  a  man  who  could  take  life  as  it  came, 
talking  with  his  friends,  attending  a  dance,  visiting  his 
neighbours,  to  shut  himself  in  an  office  and  toil  and  moil 
and  worry  for  a  lot  of  things  to  again  take  care  of, 
may  be  the  way  of  the  Abelungu  and  it  may  be  the  right 
way  for  him,  but  it  would  be  foolishness  in  the  Umuntu. 
It  is  not  our  way,  he  would  say,  and  leave  the  white  man  to 
his  eccentricities.  A  large  and  progressive  farmer  in  Natal 
was  showing  a  number  of  agricultural  friends  over  his 
farm.  Well-tilled  fields  and  excellent  crops  of  various 
kinds  were  seen,  treated  in  up-to-date  fashion  with  fertil- 
izers specially  suited  to  the  crops.  Many  questions  were 
asked,  and  at  last  the  proprietor  had  to  admit  he  could 
not  give  detailed  answers  and  his  native  headman  was 
called,  who  described  the  tillage,  the  various  manures 
used,  and  their  proportions  to  different  soils,  quite  sur- 
prising his  questioners  by  his  knowledge.  After  passing 
through  the  well-cultivated  fields  they  came  to  some 
scrubby  gardens  of  the  usual  native  kind  and  inquired  to 
whom  they  belonged.  The  headman  admitted  ownership, 
and  on  being  asked  why  he  did  not  cultivate  his  own  as 
he  did  his  master's  crops,  replied,  "  Oh  !  I  am  a  native,  this 
is  our  way  !  "  But  this  does  not  necessarily  imply  lack 
of  ability.  It  does,  however,  indicate  the  native  point  of 
view. 

Up  to  the  present  time  it  has  not  appeared  worth 
while  to  the  native  to  bother  about  many  of  the  things  so 
desirable  to  the  white  man.  He  is  a  philosopher  :  if  crops 
are  plentiful,  well  and  good,  he  eats  and  sleeps ;  if  food  is 
scarce,  he  tightens  his  belt  and  waits  for  better  times. 
Cattle  are  good,  beer  is  good,  and  wives  are  good,  but  to 
curtail  his  leisure  as  the  white  man  does  for  things  that 
don't  matter  is  not  his  way.  He  is  at  present  asleep,  or 
better  perhaps  half-awakened,  rubbing  his  eyes,  wonder- 
ingly  amused  at  all  the  novelties  he  sees  around  him, 
just  playing  with  those  that  come  in  his  way  in  a  childish 
irresponsible  fashion. 

3 


34  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

But  he  may  in  time  think  it  is  worth  while  and  fully 
wake  up  and  surprise  us.  Races  often  slumber,  they  re- 
main at  the  same  stage  of  thought  and  culture  for  ages,  and 
then,  responsive  to  some  touch,  rouse  themselves  and  make 
prodigious  advances.  During  apparent  somnolence  ac- 
cumulation has  been  going  on,  and  this  advance  may  be 
in  only  one  direction  or  it  may  be  all-round  progress. 
The  conservative  native,  so  far  deaf  to  the  allurements 
of  civilization,  may  yet  surprise  us  by  developing  race 
ambition,  and  it  may  be  along  altogether  unsuspected 
lines.  Once  or  twice  in  his  history  he  has  given  the  on- 
looker little  shocks,  and  more  of  the  unexpected  may  be 
brewing.  At  all  events,  one  thing  is  certain,  his  changed 
environment  is  changing  him,  he  is  marvellously  con- 
servative and  persistent,  but  granite  may  be  worn  away 
by  air  and  water.  We  may  be  certain  that  he  has  capacity 
far  beyond  what  he  is  called  upon  to  exert  in  his  present 
circumstances,  and  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  this 
capacity  is  going  to  lie  dormant  for  all  time. 

When  uncontaminated  by  contact  with  the  lower 
forms  of  our  civilization  the  native  is  courteous  and  polite. 
Even  to-day,  changed  for  the  worse  as  he  is  declared  to 
be  by  most  authorities,  a  European  could  ride  or  walk 
alone,  unarmed  even  with  a  switch,  all  through  the 
locations  of  Natal  and  Zululand,  scores  of  miles  away 
from  the  house  of  any  white  man,  and  receive  nothing  but 
courteous  deference  from  the  natives.  If  he  met,  as  he 
certainly  would,  troops  of  young  men,  dressed  in  all  their 
barbaric  finery,  going  to  wedding  or  dance,  armed  with 
sticks  and  shields,  full  of  hot  young  blood,  they  would  still 
stand  out  of  the  narrow  path,  giving  to  the  white  man 
the  right  of  way  and  saluting  as  he  passed.  I  have  thus 
travelled  alone  all  over  South  East  Africa,  among  thou- 
sands of  blacks  and  never  a  white  man  near,  and  I  cannot 
remember  the  natives,  even  if  met  in  scores  or  hundreds, 
ever  disputing  the  way  for  a  moment.  All  over  Africa, 
winding  and  zigzagging  over  hill  and  dale,  over  grassland 
and  through  forest,  from  kraal  to  kraal,  and  tribe  to  tribe, 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  35 

go  the  paths  of  the  natives.  In  these  narrow  paths  worn 
in  the  grass  by  the  feet  of  the  passers,  you  could  travel 
from  Natal  to  Benguela  and  back  again  to  Mombasa. 
Only  wide  enough  for  one  to  travel  thereon,  if  opposite 
parties  meet  one  must  give  way ;  cheerfully,  courteously, 
without  cringing,  often  with  respectful  salute,  docs  the 
native  stand  on  one  side  allowing  the  white  man  to  pass. 
One  accepts  it  without  thought ;  it  is  the  expected,  but  if 
pondered  upon  it  is  suggestive  of  much. 

Among  themselves  they  are  kindly,  hospitable,  helpful. 
You  may  have  in  your  employ  native  servants  coming 
from  different  kraals  and  localities.  Friends,  boys  and 
girls,  arrive  from  one  of  these.  The  food  may  be  only 
sufficient  for  the  workers  ;  no  special  provision  is  made  for 
visitors.  This  happens  frequently,  yet  I  never  knew  the 
natives,  whether  those  whose  friends  the  visitors  were,  or 
those  who  knew  them,  not,  complain  or  even  hint  at  com- 
plaint that  they  were  inconvenienced  by  the  visitors  either 
in  the  matter  of  shelter  or  food.  Again,  I  find  that  if  a 
certain  native  has  some  regular  work  to  do  at  a  given 
time  and  is  necessarily  absent,  then  the  others,  or  some  of 
them,  will,  without  any  special  arrangement  being  made, 
take  up  the  work  in  willing  fashion  and  without  fuss,  not 
apparently  regarding  it  as  a  grievance  or  calling  for  any 
recognition. 

These  are  traits  that  indicate  character  and  show  a 
kindly,  hospitable  people,  helpful  to  each  other.  But  man 
is  a  complex  being,  and  this  same  native  will  often  shock 
a  European  by  what  the  latter  considers  his  callousness  to 
suffering  in  others.  Pain  in  man  or  animals  which  would 
call  forth  all  the  sympathy  of  the  white  man  will  be  passed 
by  the  black  man  with  utter  unconcern.  The  fact  seems 
to  be  that  much  of  his  carelessness  about  comfort,  and  his 
indifference  to  suffering,  is  caused  by  a  certain  coarseness 
of  fibre,  a  hardness  that,  in  these  days,  the  civilized  white 
man  has  lost.  He  is  so  accustomed  to  comforts,  so  unac- 
customed to  any  kind  of  privation,  that  what  would  have 
seemed  to  his  forebears  matters  of  indifference  are  to  him 

3  * 


36  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

serious  deprivations.  With  the  native,  a  little  less  food, 
a  harder  couch,  colder  or  warmer,  are  not  regarded  as 
of  any  importance.  And  pain  which  would  make  a  white 
man  quiver,  makes  little  impression  on  him,  nor  does  he 
have  much  sympathy  for  it  in  another.  Any  close  observer 
must  have  been  impressed  with  his  indifference  to  all 
these  things.  Our  dependence  on  conveniences,  artifici- 
alities, and  our  sensitiveness  to  discomfort  and  pain  are 
regarded  by  some  as  signs  that  the  natural  vigour  of  the 
race  is  departing  or  being  sapped.  The  native  is  in  no 
such  case;  a  race  characteristic  of  some  value  and  of 
which  we  should  not  lose  sight. 

I  do  not  feel  competent  to  say  how  far  the  language 
of  the  Abantu  indicates  the  position  of  the  people  among 
the  races  of  the  world.  It  is  melodious  and  copious  and 
fully  fitted  for  all  the  needs  of  the  people.  In  all  that 
intimately  touches  them  in  their  everyday  life  it  is  more 
full  and  expressive  than  our  tongue  as  spoken  by  the 
common  people.  Different  classes  of  cattle  may  be  de- 
scribed in  Zulu  by  a  single  word,  which  would  require 
several  sentences,  accompanied  by  a  diagram  in  English. 
The  varieties  of  grass,  and  grass  at  various  stages,  may 
be  indicated  more  clearly  than  would  be  possible  to  a 
European  unless  he  happened  to  be  a  botanist.  All  this 
shows  an  observant  people  in  what  immediately  concerns 
them,  a  power  of  observation  and  a  knowledge  of  what 
surrounds  them  which,  though  confined  to  a  narrow  circle, 
is  often  surprising,  and  especially  is  the  observer  often 
taken  aback  by  the  extent  to  which  this  knowledge  is  shared 
by  the  children. 

The  aptitude  and  intelligence  of  native  children  up  to 
a  certain  age  has  often  been  remarked  upon  by  those 
engaged  in  their  instruction  and  by  other  observers.  Many 
claim,  or  admit,  that  they  are  as  bright  and  assimilative  as 
European  children  of  equal  age  ;  but  most  have  to  lament 
a  falling  off  at  or  about  the  age  of  puberty.  As  a  rule  it  is 
at  this  age  or  a  little  before  it  that  the  children  leave 
school,    begin    work,    and    go    back    to     their    homes. 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  37 

How  far  this  alleged  falling  off  is  a  race  characteristic  or 
merely  the  result  of  the  cessation  of  teaching  and  the  effect 
of  change  of  life  and  surroundings  is  doubtful!  It  is 
claimed  that  in  cases  in  which  the  restraints  of  the  edu- 
cative process  can  be  continued  progress  is  not  stopped, 
and  many  illustrative  individual  instances  can  be  given. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  sexual 
atmosphere  of  their  home  surroundings,  operating  at  this 
critical  time  of  life,  absorbs  all  other  interests  and  desires. 
This  predicates  strong  animal  propensities,  which  we  know 
are  present  in  the  race,  but  does  not  necessarily  indicate 
a  permanent  inability  for  further  progress.  Dr.  A.  H. 
Keane  attributes  this  suspension  of  the  mental  powers  at 
the  age  of  adolescence  to  the  premature  closing  of  the 
sutures  of  the  skull,  which  arrests  expansion  of  the  brain 
and  consequently  the  development  of  the  mental  faculties. 
This  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  contradicted  by  the  numerous 
individual  cases  of  continuous  and  ver}'  remarkable  mental 
development  under  continued  favourable  conditions.  In 
his  book,  published  this  year,  entitled  *'  The  Yellow  and 
Dark-skinned  Races  of  South  Africa,"  Dr.  G.  M.  Theal 
devotes  some  attention  to  this  question,  and  gives  extracts 
from  the  evidence  given  before  a  Select  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Assembly  of  the  Cape  Colony  in  1908.  Many 
expert  educationalists  who  had  long  worked  among  the 
natives  gave  their  experiences  and  opinions,  but  they  were 
not  by  any  means  unanimous,  and  we  are  not  carried  ver}' 
far.  Some  who  were  actually  engaged  in  native  education 
and  with  long  experience,  were  not  disposed  to  admit  a 
falling  away  at  the  age  of  puberty;  others  with  equal 
opportunities  of  judging  accepted  it  as  a  fact.  In  one  of  the 
very  thorough  and  thoughtful  reports  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Sargant, 
who  was  educational  adviser  to  Lord  Milner  when  High 
Commissioner  (and  which  unfortunately  seem  to  have 
been  forgotten)  this  question  is  considered.  He  calls  the 
phenomenon  mental  saturation,  and  is  not  inclined  to 
accept  the  anatomical  and  physiological  cause  mentioned 
above.     He  finds  similar   premature   saturation    among 


38  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Europeans,  and  attributes  it  largely  to  a  defective  system 
of  education,  in  which  students  are  crammed  with  a  number 
of  truths  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects  which  they  are  un- 
able to  assimilate,  before  they  have  opportunity  or  power 
to  get  at  facts  at  first  hand  and  arrange,  compare,  and 
assign  their  proportionate  value  to  what  they  have  com- 
mitted to  memory.  He  argues  that  if  this  is  the  case  with 
Europeans  it  is  much  more  likely  to  be  so  with  natives,  and 
to  this  attributes  the  frequent  entry  made  against  the 
names  of  scholars  who  have  abandoned  instruction  in 
Basutoland  "  Left  school  tired  ".  We  want  more  light  on 
the  matter;  it  is  a  subject  of  great  and  practical  interest 
carrying  weighty  issues  for  the  future  of  the  race,  and 
worthy  of  further  accurate  investigation. 

I  have  attempted  to  give  some  estimate  of  the  natural 
mental  capabilities  of  the  Abantu,  and  I  should  now,  in 
order  to  make  the  picture  complete,  try  to  convey  some 
idea  of  the  moral  nature  of  the  native  and  his  attitude 
towards  the  supernatural.  Anyone  who  has  tried  to  form 
a  general  estimate  of  the  ethical  conceptions  and  real 
religious  beliefs  of  a  section  of  his  own  race  will  recognize 
the  difficulty  one  is  under  in  dealing  with  a  people  so  far 
apart,  and  in  this  respect  one  which  is  inarticulate. 

The  native  idea  of  what  is  right  and  wrong  is  laid 
down  in  the  unwritten  law  of  the  land — the  custom  thought 
out  by  the  wisest  through  succeeding  generations  and 
gradually  adopted  by  the  nation.  These  laws  dealt  with 
the  relation  of  the  individual  to  the  community,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  those  who  knew  the  native  in  his 
primitive  condition  were  universally  accepted  and  rarely 
infringed.  This  is  sought  to  be  explained  by  the  rigour 
of  the  punishment  inflicted  for  any  breach  of  them, 
death  being  the  usual,  at  times  the  invariable  penalty. 
Whether  this  was  the  case  or  not,  it  is  a  fact  that  to-day, 
when  our  punishments  are  light  and  often  regarded  by 
the  native  as  ridiculous,  they  are  a  wonderfully  law-abid- 
ing race.  In  the  Transkeian  territories  the  small  number 
of  police  officers  to  the  huge  masses  of  natives  is  subject 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  39 

of  remark  by  all  visitors  (on  an  average  one  policeman  to 
4000  inhabitants),  and  the  position  in  Natal  is  much  the 
same.  Notwithstanding  the  changed  conditions  the  re- 
ports of  the  Natal  magistrates  for  1909  are  practically 
unanimous  in  stating  that  serious  crime  is  non-existent, 
and  even  infringement  of  regulations  infrequent. 

But  questions  arise  outside  the  sphere  of  law,  questions 
of  right  or  wrong,  which  come  into  all  lives,  black  and 
white  alike,  though  it  may  be  not  so  frequently  or  in  such 
conscious  form  in  the  case  of  the  black  man.  How  does 
the  native  deal  with  these?  Does  he  feel  the  promptings 
of  conscience  indicating  good  and  bad,  making  him  feel 
more  or  less  distressed  if  he  choose  the  latter,  satisfied  if  he 
decides  to  take  the  right  course  ?  Many  of  those  who 
have  moved  in  and  out  among  these  people  all  their  lives 
would  mock  at  the  question  even  being  asked.  The 
question  of  right  or  wrong  they  would  say  never  occurs 
to  the  black  man,  the  line  of  least  resistance,  the  smallest 
amount  of  service  possible,  the  greatest  gratification  of 
his  appetites  are  all  that  prompt  him.  Is  it  so  ?  One 
can  only,  in  a  case  like  this,  judge  from  personal  experi- 
ence. If  you  find  a  man  who,  so  far  from  giving  eye 
service,  may  be  depended  upon  to  work  as  faithfully  in 
your  absence  as  in  your  presence,  he  is  surely  prompted 
by  conscientious  motives.  It  may  cause  an  incredulous 
and  superior  smile  on  the  part  of  many  who  know  the 
natives  when  I  say  that  I  know  native  men  who  are  such 
hard,  and  as  we  would  sa}^  of  white  men,  such  conscienti- 
ous workers,  that  I  have  to  take  thought  and  allot  a  task 
to  which  their  strength  is  equal,  knowing  that  whatever 
I  ask,  their  fullest  powers  will  be  put  into  it,  and  to  so 
change  the  labour,  intercalating  lighter  occupations,  that 
they  shall  not  be  overtasked.  If  you  leave  a  man  in 
charge  of  your  possessions,  many  of  which  would  be  of 
great  value  to  him,  and  he,  knowing  you  could  not  possibly 
check  him,  faithfully  renders  account  of  all,  it  may  fairly 
be  counted  to  him  for  righteousness.  And  all  old  colonists 
who  have  the  confidence  of  the  natives  can  tell  of  numer- 


40  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

ous  instances  of  faithful  service,  honest  dealing,  self- 
sacrifice,  disinterested  action  on  the  part  of  natives  that, 
in  a  white  man,  would  be  counted  as  the  higher  moralit}-. 
Law-abiding  the  native  certainly  is ;  his  severest  critic 
would  admit  that,  even  when  the  white  man's  law  seems 
objectless  he  obeys  it,  and  I  must  claim  that  he  also  obeys 
in  a  far  larger  number  of  cases  than  is  commonly  ad- 
mitted, the  higher  law  of  conscience.  Give  him  a  specific 
trust  and  seldom  does  he  fail.  In  the  old  days  his  honesty 
in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  term  was  proverbial,  and 
large  sums  of  money  counted  out  in  the  presence  of  the 
natives  were  placed  in  their  hands  and  delivered  again 
intact.  I  have  left  all  my  movable  possessions  and 
house  open  in  their  charge  for  months  at  a  time,  and  in  one 
case  for  over  two  years,  and  returned  to  find  everything  as 
carefully  preserved  as  if  I  had  been  present,  and  with  an 
almost  pathetic  record  of  the  circumstances  attending  any 
small  breakage  or  loss. 

The  native  has  been  described  as  an  utter  materialist, 
without  religion  of  any  kind,  or  any  conception  beyond 
his  animal  appetities.  This  seems  to  me  utterly  wrong,  he 
is  linked  up  to  the  supernatural  in  all  his  actions,  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  spirits  of  his  fathers ;  dreams,  visions, 
and  second  sight  are  part  of  his  system  of  things.  Both 
good  and  bad  agencies  surround  him  and  may  be  invoked 
by  those  familiar  with  them  ;  before  an  impi  goes  to  war 
it  must  be  doctored  to  get  strength  and  protection  from 
the  former ;  when  misfortune  happens  the  agent  of  the  latter 
must  be  discovered  and  the  cord  snapped  between  the 
spirit  and  himself.  So  far  from  being  material  their  whole 
life  is  saturated  with  the  supernatural. 

The  test  we  apply  to  religions  is  first  whether  those 
accepting  them  have  a  belief  in  and  a  high  conception  of 
the  attributes  of  a  Supreme  Being,  and  secondly  whether 
the  religion  so  influences  life  and  conduct  as  to  make  it 
more  moral,  better,  worthier.  By  these  tests  we  cannot 
place  the  beliefs  in  the  supernatural,  and  the  actions  result- 
ing therefrom,  of  the  native  high  in  the  scale  of  religions. 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  41 

He  had  a  vague  idea  of  a  Being  above  all  the  spirits  he 
propitiated,  but  of  his  nature  he  knew  nothing  and  did  not 
attempt  to  form  any  adequate  conception  ;  his  attention 
was  directed  to  these  unseen  influences  which  he  con- 
sidered as  affecting  or  likely  to  affect  his  life  and  material 
wellbeing.  So  far  from  his  beliefs  leading  to  a  well-ordered 
moral  life,  his  fears  outweighed  his  hopes,  and  the  result 
was  witchcraft  with  all  its  suspicions,  fears,  smelling-out 
and  murders.  These  results,  to  us  in  these  days  so  appal- 
ling, were  regarded,  as  they  were  by  our  ancestors  but  a 
few  short  years  ago,  as  only  due  protection  of  the  good 
against  the  evil,  as  moral  acts  in  themselves,  and  the  real 
underlying  morality  of  the  people  should  not  altogether 
be  judged  by  their  misconception  of  the  order  of  things. 

I  remember  when  a  large  deputation  of  the  far-away 
chiefs  and  headmen  of  Northern  Zululand  waited  upon 
the  Natal  Native  Commission  to  talk  over  matters  affect- 
ing themselves,  their  chief  complaint  against  the  Govern- 
ment was  that  they  were  not  allowed  to  protect  themselves 
in  the  ancient  way  against  evil  doers  and  thus  keep  the 
people  and  the  country  clean.  They  regarded  it  as 
essentially  wrong  that  Government  should  shield  these 
bad  people  and  thus  leave  them  at  liberty  to  work  their 
evil  against  the  good  people  of  the  land. 

At  long  intervals  in  Natal  there  have  happened  mur- 
dersof  white  people  living  isolated  lives  among  the  Abantu, 
which,  when  investigated  by  the  Courts,  have  disclosed 
the  tremendous  hold  the  belief  in  witchcraft  has  among 
the  people,  for,  in  nearly  all  cases,  these  killings  have 
been  to  obtain  medicine  of  peculiar  virtue.  More  fre- 
quently murders  of  natives  occur,  weird  with  a  tragic 
fascination,  in  which  people  are  waylaid,  killed,  and 
their  bodies  subjected  to  dissection,  to  furnish  the  "  u'muti  " 
wanted  by  some  doctor  who  can  command  the  supersti- 
tions of  the  people.  The  Court  inquiries,  when  such  are 
held,  reveal  the  intimate  faith  still  held  by  the  Abantu  in 
their  ancestral  beliefs. 

I  have  now  endeavoured  to  g-ive  in  brief  the  salient 


42  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

features  of  the  land  inhabited  b}'  the  Abantu  people  with 
whom  we  are  dealing,  and  my  conception  of  their  chief 
characteristics,  some  knowledge  of  which  is  necessary 
before  we  can  deal  with  the  problem  of  our  relations  to 
them.  Although  as  far  back  as  our  accurate  knowledge  of 
them  goes,  they  have  inhabited  the  country  now  occupied 
by  them,  they  are  not  the  aborigines  of  South  East  Africa. 
Before  they  appeared  it  was  occupied  by  that  mysterious 
race  of  huntsmen,  the  Bushmen,  now  entirely  extinct  in 
their  old  hunting  grounds  in  South  East  Africa,  only  re- 
maining, if  at  all,  in  small  parties  in  the  remotest  recesses 
of  the  Kalahari  desert,  far  to  the  west  of  the  country  we 
are  dealing  with,  protected  there  by  their  arid  and  desolate 
surroundings.  Well  within  the  memory  of  living  man 
they  dwelt  in  the  Drakensberg  and  in  the  isolated  moun- 
tains of  the  Free  State,  Natal,  and  Zululand,  and  as  late 
as  1868  they  raided  the  cattle  and  horses  of  the  farmers 
about  Mooi  River  on  the  central  plateau  of  Natal.  Occa- 
sionally, among  the  natives,  one  sees  an  individual  with 
Bushman-like  characteristics,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but 
that  during  the  wars  of  extermination  a  few  women  were, 
saved  and  taken  by  the  Abantu  to  wife,  accounting  for 
these  individual  cases  of  likeness.  But,  apart  from  this 
slight  intermixture,  all  that  is  left  to  indicate  that  such  a 
people  once  dwelt  in  the  land,  are  their  paintings  of  animals 
and  men  on  the  walls  of  the  caves  and  rock  shelters  in 
which  they  lived.  Most  singular  and  characteristic  are 
these  paintings,  no  other  known  living  race  has  an  art 
culture  to  which  it  can  be  likened,  and  I  understand  from 
Professor  Henry  Balfour,  that  we  have  to  go  back  to  the 
Solutre  period  of  the  Palaeolithic  age  of  Western  Europe 
before  we  find  any  paintings  having  the  same  general  and 
unmistakable  characteristics.  Between  the  Bushmen  and 
Abantu  there  could  be  no  peace ;  their  modes  of  living 
were  so  different  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  occupy 
the  same  country.  Gradually  these  primitive  hunters 
were  driven  into  the  recesses  of  the  most  inaccessible 
mountains  ;  from  there  as  game  became  scarce  they  raided 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  43 

the  cattle  of  their  stronger  neighbours,  who  retahated, 
followed  them  up,  and  exterminating  them  wherever  found, 
they  at  last  disappeared  from  the  land. 

Of  the  history  of  the  various  tribes  of  Abantu  since 
they  became  sole  possessors  of  the  land  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  say  much.  Except  as  indicating  the  character  of 
the  people,  it  is  not  greatly  to  our  present  purpose. 
It  would  appear  that  periods  of  comparative  peace  were 
broken  up  by  times  of  devastating  war.  Much  depended 
on  the  character  of  the  paramount  chief.  Under  Tyaka, 
the  Zulus  carried  the  assegai  and  torch  through  South 
East  Africa  from  the  north  of  Delagoa  Bay  to  the  Umzim- 
vubu ;  under  Panda  they  rested  in  their  kraals.  The  Basuto, 
thanks  to  the  sagacity  of  Moshesh,  were  less  aggressive ; 
though  constantly  under  arms,  they  never  undertook  wars 
of  conquest,  content  to  defend  their  mountain  home 
against  the  invader.  Since  the  advent  of  the  white  man 
the  independent  nations  and  tribes  have,  one  after  another, 
come  beneath  his  sway — the  Gaikas,  Gcalekas,  the  Tem- 
bus,  Bacas,  Hlangwenis  of  the  Transkei ;  then  the  Pondos  ; 
the  conquest  of  Zululand  followed  ;  the  Swazies  are  under 
his  control,  and  only  the  Basuto  have  now  a  modified  in- 
dependence under  the  guidance  and  protection  of  the 
Imperial  Government.  All  have  come  into  contact  with 
Europeans  and  been  more  or  less  affected  by  them. 

To  make  the  position  of  the  races  to  each  other  clear, 
it  remains  to  indicate,  in  a  general  way,  the  race,  distri- 
bution, and  occupation  of  the  white  men  among  whom 
the  black  men  live. 

In  Natal  proper  to-day  there  are  probably  just  under 
100,000  Europeans  and  approximately  770,000  blacks.  Of 
the  former  the  great  majority  are  of  British  birth  or  descent, 
and  almost  one  half  live  in  the  two  towns  of  Durban  and 
Pietermaritzburg.  The  European  population  of  the  towns 
of  Natal  is,  generally  speaking,  well-to-do.  There  is  no 
labouring  class  and  very  little  poverty  in  proportion  to 
the  population.  Wages  and  salaries  are  high,  and  even 
those  who  earn  the  lower  rates,  artisans  and  clerks,  are 


44  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

able  to  own  their  own  houses.  There  are  no  slums,  in 
the  sense  the  word  is  used  in  Europe,  and  the  standard  of 
living  is  very  high,  almost  every  family,  even  the  poor- 
est, having  at  least  one  native  servant.  The  bulk  of  the 
country  dwellers  are  engaged  in  farming,  pastoral  and 
agricultural,  the  latter  gradually  extending  year  by  year; 
mealies  which  were,  a  short  time  since,  only  cultivated 
for  local  consumption  being  now  grown  for  export  in 
large  quantities;  wattle  tree  cultivation  for  tanning  material 
is  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds ;  and  sugar  cane  and 
other  crops  on  the  coast  yearly  take  up  a  larger  area  of 
land.  In  the  districts  of  Utrecht  and  Vryheid  the  white 
population  in  the  country  is  almost  exclusively  of  Dutch 
descent;  in  Umvoti,  Newcastle  and  Klip-river  both  races 
are  represented;  in  the  rest  of  the  colony  the  white 
population,  town  and  country  alike,  is  practically  all  Bri- 
tish. As  a  class  the  country  residents  are  well  educated, 
well-to-do  and  thriving,  and  most  of  them  live  in  a  high 
standard  of  comfort.  Exception  must  be  made  of  the 
northern  districts  of  Vryheid  and  Utrecht,  where,  among 
the  Dutch-speaking  population,  there  is  considerable  pov- 
erty, accentuated  of  late  years  by  the  loss  of  their  cattle 
through  East  Coast  fever. 

The  farms,  generally  speaking,  are  large,  probabl}^ 
2000  acres  may  be  taken  as  the  average  size.  Many, 
especially  in  the  Thorn  country,  are  not  occupied  by 
Europeans, — they  belong  to  colonists  living  in  other 
parts  or  non-resident  in  the  colony,  but  full  of  natives 
who  pay  rent  to  the  proprietors.  Natives  invariably  live 
on  the  farms  occupied  and  cultivated  by  Europeans  as 
servants,  or  tenants,  or  both. 

The  distinction  made  in  the  descent  of  the  white  races 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  as  there  is  a  considerable  differ- 
ence in  their  mode  of  life,  in  their  treatment  of  the  native, 
and  in  their  ideas  of  him  and  his  position  on  the  land. 

In  Zululand  the  native  population  is  approximately 
250,000,  and  the  whites  number  but  a  few  hundreds.  A 
section  of  the  midland  portion  of  the  country,  of  which 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  45 

the  town  of  Melmoth  is  the  centre  and  called  Proviso  B, 
was  cut  up  into  farms  many  years  ago  and  occupied 
by  Dutch  farmers.  Since  the  delimitation  commission 
finished  their  work,  a  strip  along  the  railway  line  on  the 
coast  from  the  river  Tugela  to  about  Empangeni,  has 
been  divided  into  smaller  farms  for  the  cultivation  of  sugar 
cane  and  occupied  by  British  settlers  who  employ  Indian 
or  native  labour.  The  total  area  of  Zululand  is  6,695,000 
acres,  of  this  3,887,000  acres  are  reserved  for  natives  and 
this  land  is  held  by  the  Zululand  Native  Trust ;  2,808,000 
acres  are  for  European  occupation.  The  Dutch  farmers 
in  the  upper  parts  of  Zululand  are,  generally  speaking,  not 
very  prosperous.  Their  herds  have  been  decimated  by 
East  Coast  fever,  and  excepting  in  the  district  of  Baban- 
ango,  it  is  not  a  sheep  country.  Their  life  and  their  re- 
lations with  the  natives  are  cast  in  the  old  patriarchal 
mould. 

The  British  settlers  on  the  coast  are  pushing  and  pro- 
gressive, nearly  all  from  Natal  proper,  and  of  the  same 
class  as  the  farmers  there. 

The  European  population  of  the  Transvaal  is  289,062 
according  to  the  census  of  1904.  The  British  section  of 
the  people,  in  the  main,  reside  in  the  towns,  and  the 
farmers  are  Dutch.  On  the  Witwatersrand,  the  centre  of 
which  is  Johannesburg  and  which  includes  the  consider- 
able town  of  Germiston,  with  Boksburg,  Krugersdorp  and 
many  others,  the  European  population  numbered  158,578, 
though  it  has  probably  increased  considerably  during  the 
last  year  or  two,  all  engaged  in  mining  and  its  cognate  in- 
dustrial pursuits  or  in  commerce.  Here,  and  to  a  smaller 
extent  in  Pretoria,  there  are  much  greater  differences 
between  the  wealth  and  status  of  the  European  inhabit- 
ants than  in  the  towns  of  Natal.  The  general  average  of 
well-being  is  high,  wages  and  salaries  higher  than  in 
Natal,  but  there  are  extremes  in  w^ealth  and  poverty  that 
do  not  exist  in  the  Garden  Colon}'-.  Among  the  English- 
speaking  portion  of  the  population  there  are  a  number  of 
indigent  people,  unemployed,  unemployable,  or  existing 


46  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

by  pandering  to  the  desires  of  the  black  man — illicit  liquor 
sellers  or  worse.  A  large  proportion  of  these  come  from 
oversea,  derelicts  in  their  own  land  and  become  derelicts 
here,  but  with  opportunities  for  mischief  they  did  not  pos- 
sess elsewhere.  Fortunately,  the  proportion  of  married 
men  among  them  is  not  high,  but  this  class  is  a  serious 
menace  to  the  moral  and  physical  health  of  the  community. 

In  both  Johannesburg  and  Pretoria,  and  to  a  smaller 
extent  in  the  towns  outside  the  area  of  the  Witwatersrand, 
we  meet  an  element  entirely  absent  in  the  towns  of  Natal — 
the  poor  Dutch.  These  people,  originally  country  dwellers, 
have  gradually  drifted  into  the  towns  and  form  communi- 
ties on  the  outskirts,  living  apart  from  the  ordinary  towns- 
man. 

Before  drifting  into  the  towns  these  people  were,  in 
many  cases,  bywoners  or  squatters  on  the  farms  of  their 
more  wealthy  compatriots,  often  performing  some  little 
work  for  the  owner  in  return  for  permission  to  live  on  the 
land.  In  many  cases  they  were  poor  relations  of  the 
landlord.  In  early  days  when  land  was  plentiful,  game 
abundant,  and  money  could  be  earned  by  transport-rid- 
ing with  wagons  and  oxen,  the  position  of  these  people 
and  their  patriarchal  relations  to  the  landowner  was  toler- 
able and  in  keeping  with  the  times.  Gradually  the  land 
began  to  fill  up,  the  landowner  wanted  his  farm  for  his 
numerous  sons  and  sons-in-law,  and  there  was  no  room 
for  the  bywoner.  At  the  same  time,  other  circumstances 
made  his  position  increasingly  difficult.  The  game  on 
which  he  lived  on  the  high  veldt,  and  which  he  hunted  in 
winter  on  the  low  veldt,  became  scarce  to  disappearance, 
and  at  the  same  time  railways  penetrated  the  land  and 
made  transport-riding  a  thing  of  the  past.  Then  came 
the  war  and  dispersed  his  friends,  relations,  and  family 
all  over  South  Africa.  The  old  position  on  the  land  could 
not  be  resumed  as  the  one-time  wealthy  farmer,  who 
tolerated  the  bywoner,  had  himself  to  struggle  to  make 
a  living  and  rebuild  his  fortunes,  so  the  bywoner  drifted 
into  the  outskirts  of  the  towns.     Here  they  live  in  the 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  47 

most  miserable  dwellings  and  insanitary  and  unwholesome 
surroundings.  In  the  old  times  on  the  farms,  or  in  the 
low  veldt  hunting  and  trekking  with  stock,  they-had  their 
place,  and,  though  poor  and  unthrifty,  had  knowledge  of 
game,  stock,  and  the  veldt  that  kept  them  self-supporting 
and  self-respecting.  In  the  town  this  knowledge  was 
valueless  and  they  had  neither  knowledge  nor  ability  that 
was  of  any  value  in  their  new  environment.  They  had 
no  trades  or  definite  occupation,  and  they  had  to  accept 
work  of  any  kind  that  offered.  The  worst  feature  of  their 
position  is,  that  never  having  worked  in  their  lives  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  word  is  used  in  Europe,  they  could  not 
begin,  so  they  gradually  sank  and  are  still  sinking.  In 
their  old  life  the  rough  work  was  always  done  by  Kaffirs  ; 
under  the  old  circumstances,  the  native  was  practically  a 
serf,  and  poor  as  the  whites  of  this  class  were,  they  could 
always  command  him.  In  the  absence  of  the  salutary 
discipline  of  hard  work  they  degenerated  and  became  un- 
able to  work,  and  now  they  drag  out  miserable  lives  on 
the  outskirts  of  civilization,  a  cancer  in  the  community. 

The  Dutch  farmers  of  the  high  veldt  in  the  districts 
of  Ermelo,  Standerton,  and  Wakkerstroom  are  of  quite  a 
different  class.  In  this  country  all  stock,  horses,  cattle 
and  sheep  thrive  and  are  free  from  many  of  the  diseases 
of  the  country  at  a  lower  altitude  ;  the  severe  cold  in  winter 
is  the  chief  drawback,  and  this,  of  course,  can  be  minimized 
by  artificial  aids.  The  farms  are  large,  and  the  owners,  as  a 
rule,  fairly  well-to-do.  Their  sheep  are  a  regular  and  cer- 
tain source  of  income,  and  the  farmers  use  their  money  well, 
being  thrifty  and  yet  progressive.  Physically,  mentally, 
and  in  character  they  are  a  fine  race,  the  flower  of  the 
Dutch-speaking  population  of  South  East  Africa.  Many 
of  them,  in  addition  to  their  high  veldt  farms,  have  land 
in  the  middle  or  low  veldt  to  which  they  send  their  flocks 
in  winter,  and  on  which  natives  reside,  furnishing  them 
with  labour,  as  but  few  natives  voluntarily  live  on  or  care 
for  the  rigours  of  the  high  plateau. 

In  the  bush  veldt  or  lower  country  previously  described, 


48  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  farmers,  who  are  all  of  Dutch  descent,  are  poorer  and 
usually  not  such  a  good  stamp  as  those  just  mentioned. 
Here  sheep  do  not  thrive,  and  there  is  no  industry  which 
takes  the  place  of  wool  production  with  its  certain  market 
and  regular  income.  In  the  Zoutpansberg  and  Waterberg, 
and,  to  a  less  degree,  in  the  other  districts,  many  of  the 
country  dwellers  are  very  poor,  often  poverty  stricken,  and 
form  the  class  from  which  the  poor  whites  of  the  town  are 
recruited.  Although  the  country  is  not  particularly  fer- 
tile, some  few  immigrants  have  shown  the  older  settlers 
that  with  labour  and  intelligence  much  may  be  done,  but  the 
curse  of  Africa  is  on  most  of  them,  they  have  been  brought 
up  in  an  atmosphere  in  which  work  is  despised,  and  lost 
the  power  to  do  it.  There  are  natives  in  plenty,  and 
they  have  learned  to  lean  upon  the  black  man  for  labour 
when  they  should  have  been  working  themselves,  and 
they  exploit  the  natives  to  keep  themselves  in  idleness. 
The  easy  sources  of  livelihood  of  the  past,  hunting  and 
transport-riding,  are  gone,  the  struggle  for  existence  has 
come,  and  they  are  unfit  and  unable  to  face  it. 

In  the  Transkei  the  bulk  of  the  Europeans  are  in  the 
northern  portion,  East  Griqualand,  an  exceptionally  well- 
watered  and  fertile  country  and  very  healthy  for  all  kinds 
of  stock.  Most  of  the  farmers  here  originally  came  from 
Natal  and  are  as  progressive  and  prosperous  as  the  best 
class  in  the  midlands  of  that  province. 

In  the  native  portions  of  the  Transkeian  territories,  in- 
cluding Pondoland,  in  Swaziland  and  Basutoland,  the 
Europeans  form  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  are  practically  all  officials,  traders,  or  mission- 
aries. 

A  distinction  is  often  drawn  between  the  management 
and  government  of  natives  by  the  Dutch  and  English- 
speaking  population  of  the  country  respectively,  and  among 
the  latter  one  may  frequently  hear  it  said  the  Dutch  know 
how  to  manage  them,  and  that  as  a  result  the  natives 
living  among  the  Dutch  are  more  respectful  and  amenable, 
due  to  the  greater  strictness  with  which  they  are  treated. 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  49 

There  are  differences,  it  is  true,  but  a  sweeping  general- 
ization such  as  is  often  heard  does  not  cover  the  whole 
ground,  and  the  comparison  made  too  often  does  not  take 
into  account  the  different  circumstances  'in  which  the 
majority  of  the  Dutch  and  British  live  with  their  resulting 
different  relations  to  the  natives.. 

The  former  are  invariably  in  South  East  Africa  country 
dwellers,  living  on  farms ;  the  native  language,  character, 
and  customs  are  understood  by  them,  and  their  servants 
and  dependants  live  among  them  and  are  known  to  them 
personally.  More  than  half  those  of  British  birth  and 
descent  are  town  dwellers,  incomers  for  the  most  part 
from  oversea,  often  unaccustomed  to  command  personal 
service,  having  been  indeed  themselves  servers,  and  strange 
to  the  native,  his  language,  customs,  and  ideas.  It  is  true 
that  this  latter  class  often  sadly  mishandle  the  natives ; 
their  treatment  is  not  consistent,  they  alternate  between 
familiarity  and  aggravating  and  nerve-wearing  nagging, 
the  latter  attitude  often  taken  up  and  persisted  in  through 
misunderstanding,  or  as  a  direct  result  of  their  own 
previous  laxity  and  familiarity.  The  result  is,  a  bearing 
on  the  part  of  the  native  which  often  approaches  insol- 
ence, and  contrasts  very  unfavourably  with  the  manner 
and  behaviour  of  natives  living  on  the  farms  of  the  Dutch. 

But  the  comparison  is  hardly  a  fair  one ;  it  would  be 
better  to  put  side  by  side  the  attitude  towards  and  treat- 
ment of  natives  by  the  Dutch  and  English-speaking  people 
living  under  like  conditions.  If  each  were  asked  to  put  in 
set  terms  their  opinion  of  the  basic  relations  of  black  and 
white,  I  do  not  think  there  would  be  very  much  differ- 
ence. Nearly  all  the  former  and  a  great  majority  of 
the  latter  would  say,  white  is  white,  and  black  is  black  ; 
they  had  been  so  created,  the  former  to  rule,  the  latter 
to  be  ruled.  A  minority  of  the  British,  and  perhaps  a 
smaller  minority  of  the  Dutch,  would  admit  responsi- 
bilities to  the  native,  the  former  granting  he  should  have 
opportunity  to  advance  himself  in  material  things,  the 
latter  that  he  should  have  religious  and  moral  teaching. 

4 


50  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

But  it  is  in  their  actual  treatment  of  him  in  their  daily 
lives  that  there  is  a  perceptible  difference,  difficult  to  de- 
scribe and  convey  to  another,  and  yet  clear  enough  to  the 
observer.  This  difference  is,  I  think,  due  to  the  outlook 
on  life  of  the  two  white  races  ;  and  the  treatment  accorded 
to  the  black  man  by  each  resulting  therefrom,  may  be 
called  the  patriarchal  and  the  commercial.  The  Dutch 
farmer,  the  true  Boer,  lives  his  life  on  and  in  the  land,  it 
is  an  end  in  itself,  not  the  means  to  an  end  ;  the  farmer  of 
British  birth  regards  it  as  a  profession,  the  means  to 
another  end,  a  competency,  a  fortune  as  providing  op- 
portunity for  a  life  in  another  and  more  comfortable  and 
civilized  land,  or  in  any  case  for  travel  and  enjoyment 
elsewhere. 

The  relations  between  the  farmer  of  Dutch  extraction 
and  his  native  dependant,  were  therefore  very  rarely  put  on 
a  cash  basis,  both  must  live  ;  the  impugnable  position  was 
that  of  master  and  servant,  but  this  being  inviolable,  the 
relations  might  be  very  amicable  and  pleasant  and  well 
suited  to  both.  The  British  farmer  much  more  frequently 
placed  the  relationship  upon  a  commercial  or  cash  basis, 
charged  rent,  and  in  labour  matters  looked,  not  only  for 
personal  service  and  fidelity,  but  for  profit  for  himself  out 
of  labour.  The  demand  for  absolute  submission  by  the 
Dutch  farmer  sometimes  resulted  in  forcing  it  by  extreme 
cruelty  (cases  sometimes  come  before  the  Courts  which 
make  one  throb  with  indignation)  but  the  usual  position 
was  that  he  took  an  interest  in  the  lives  and  affairs  of  his 
dependants  and  often  made  their  simple  lives  comfortable 
to  them  to  an  extent  that  was  rare  in  landowners  of  the 
other  white  race.  I  have  often  been  struck  at  meetings  of 
large  numbers  of  Dutch  families  on  occasions  such  as 
Nachtmaals,  when  the  tent  wagons  were  outspanned  on 
the  Kerkplatz,  with  the  apparently  pleasant  and  accepted 
relations  between  the  members  of  the  family  and  the  black 
servants.  The  latter,  especially  the  girls,  are  nearly  al- 
wa3'S  neatly  and  suitably  dressed,  are  often  well  trained, 
and  have  a  look  of  docile  confidence  and  well-doins:  that 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  51 

denotes  content  and  is  pleasant  to  witness.  Not  nearly 
so  often  does  one  see  these  same  relations  around  the 
homestead  of  the  British  farmer.  There  is  more  "drive," 
modern  conditions  come  into  operation,  and  though  busi- 
ness fairplay  may  be  granted  to  the  native  which  would 
not  be  understood  by  the  Dutchman,  and  though  extreme 
severity  would  not  be  meted  out  on  occasion,  I  feel  that 
the  patriarchal  condition  with  all  its  limitations  is  better 
understood  and  more  appreciated  by  the  native. 

In  the  country  districts  a  fair  proportion  of  the  Euro- 
pean inhabitants,  especially  those  born  in  South  East 
Africa,  speak  Zulu  or  Sesuto  fluently,  and  when  this  is 
the  case  the  native  tongue  forms  the  medium  of  communi- 
cation between  black  and  white.  It  is  very  seldom  that 
the  native  learns  and  uses  the  English  language,  and  among 
the  Europeans  to  whom  this  is  their  rn,other  tongue,  a 
common  medium  is  found  in  a  broken  Zulu  locally  termed 
Kitchen-Kaffir.  This  patois  is  now  generally  understood 
by  the  natives  and  takes  the  place  in  South  East  Africa 
of  pidgin-English  in  the  East,  or  trader  Swaheli  in  Equa- 
torial East  Africa.  When  spoken  with  deliberation,  and 
great  care  is  taken  to  instil  one's  meaning  into  the  mind 
of  the  native,  it  is  a  useful  means  of  communication,  and  it 
is  positively  wonderful  how  often  the  native  grasps  the 
meaning  of  instructions  given  in  terms  which,  if  analysed, 
w^ould  be  a  philological  nightmare.  Many  English-speak- 
ing colonists  seem  to  have  a  repugnance  to  hearing 
natives  using  the  English  language,  and  go  so  far  as  to 
decline  to  carry  on  a  conversation  in  it,  and  so  Kitchen- 
Kaffir  is  invariably  the  medium  used  in  the  towns  and  is 
the  rule  even  in  country  districts. 

Many  of  the  Dutch,  on  the  contrary,  expect  their 
servants  to  speak  in  the  "  taal  " ;  and  as  this  simple  language 
is  easily  picked  up,  it  is  the  rule  among  them,  and  the 
frequent  misunderstandings  which  arise  from  the  use  of 
Kitchen-Kaffir,  when  any  attempt  is  made  to  utilize  it 
beyond  the  simple  needs  of  house  or  farm,  is  largely  ob- 
viated.    The  language  difficulty  is  one  that  leads  to  much 

A     * 


52  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

confusion  and  waste  of  time,  even  when  great  care  and 
patience  are  exercised ;  and  when,  as  is  so  often  the  case, 
inquiries  are  made  or  instruction  given  in  unfamiliar 
terms,  and  in  a  hasty  and  choleric  manner,  the  results  are 
exaggerated  and  confusion  becomes  worse  confounded. 

I  think  I  should  say  something  here  of  the  effect  of 
the  climate  of  South  East  Africa  on  the  European  races 
living  in  the  country,  for  though  my  chief  object  is  to  in- 
vestigate the  effect  of  the  black  man's  presence  on  the 
white  race,  the  climate  and  other  surroundings,  in  so  far 
as  they  may  alter  the  characteristics  and  'affect  the  vigour, 
resiliency,  and  fertility  of  the  whites,  will  have  a  direct 
bearing  on  the  final  result. 

Consider  first  the  healthiness  of  the  country  in  the 
limited  sense  of  its  freedom  from  disease.  The  high  veldt, 
in  which  I  include  all  country  over  4500  feet  above  the 
sea,  is  entirely  free  from  fever  and  other  diseases  associ- 
ated with  tropical  conditions.  This  country  includes 
nearly  all  the  Transvaal  lying  west  of  the  Drakensberg 
and  south  of  the  Delagoa-Pretoria  railway,  the  whole  of 
the  Eastern  Free  State  which  falls  within  the  scope  of  this 
inquiry,  the  higher  parts  of  Natal,  and  practically  all 
Griqualand  East. 

In  the  middle  veldt  I  would  include  the  country  be- 
tween 3000  and  4500  feet  above  sea-level,  and  here  again 
in  the  southern  areas  there  is  complete  immunity  from 
tropical  diseases.  This  healthy  southern  area  includes 
the  parts  of  Natal  and  Zululand  lying  between  these  eleva- 
tions, and  that  portion  of  the  Transvaal  which  is  east 
of  the  Drakensberg  escarpment.  In  the  bush  veldt  of  the 
Transvaal,  the  country  which  is  in  this  class  is  doubtful 
in  proportion  to  its  altitude,  the  tendency  to  fever  and  like 
diseases  decreasing  as  it  rises  in  elevation. 

Country  below  3000  feet  varies  in  the  degree  of  free- 
dom from  disease  with  its  greater  or  less  approach  to 
tropical  conditions.  Almost  all  Natal, -even  including  the 
coast  lands,  is  healthy  in  this  sense,  but  Zululand  is  doubt- 
ful even  in  the  south,  and  the  further  north  one  goes  and 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  53 

the  lower  the  altitude  the  greater  the  danger.  The  bush 
veldt  of  the  Transvaal  becomes  more  and  more  dangerous 
as  we  approach  the  lower  levels  and,  at  its  worst,  is  ab- 
solutely deadly. 

A  country  may,  however,  not  be  unhealthy  in  the 
limited  sense  in  which  we  have,  so  far,  used  the  term,  viz. 
in  freedom  from  actual  disease,  and  yet  not  be  such  a  one 
in  which  Europeans  can  live  and  attain  their  highest  in 
physique,  stamina,  vigour  and  ability  to  raise  healthy 
children  fully  equal  to  the  parent  stock,  and  I  want  briefly 
to  indicate  the  conclusions  at  which  I  have  arrived  in  this 
regard  from  long-continued  observations  in  South  East 
Africa. 

The  high  veldt  has  been  inhabited  for  two  generations 
by  the  Dutch.  They  came  principally  from  the  healthy 
parts  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  were  the  more  adventurous 
and  probably  the  most  fit  of  an  exceptionally  vigorous  and 
virile  race.  In  their  new  surroundings  they  raised  large 
families  and  the  high-veldt-born  men  and  women  are  the 
best  testimony  to  the  climate  as  one  eminently  suited  to 
Europeans.  As  a  rule  they  are  a  large  race  with  big 
frames,  probably  a  larger  type  of  men  and  women  than 
any  European  race,  fully  equal  in  this  respect  to  the  best 
specimens  of  the  yeomen  one  used  to  see  in  the  border 
counties  of  England  and  Scotland  or  in  Ulster.  It  is 
said  that  the  great  altitude  affects  the  hearts  of  those  dis- 
posed to  heart  disease,  but  the  health,  as  well  as  the 
physique  of  the  Dutch  when  in  proper  hygienic  surround- 
ings, seems  to  show  that  weakness  of  any  kind  is  the  ex- 
ception. 

Though  our  experience  with  regard  to  Britons  and 
their  descendants  is  not  of  such  long  duration,  observa- 
tion seems  to  show,  that  men  of  British  race  and  their 
children  living  in  the  comparatively  bracing  climate  of  the 
high  veldt,  certainly  do  not  deteriorate  physically,  but  grow 
to  large  size  and  are  healthy.  The  high  veldt,  in  this 
sense,  must  be  termed  a  true  white  man's  country. 

In  a  less  degree  I  would  say  this  of  the  middle  veldt. 


54  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

The  hardy  appearance  and  large  build  of  both  Dutch  and 
English  of  the  high  veldt  are  not  so  common  here.  A 
certain  swarthiness  and  lassitude  is  observable  among  the 
men,  and  many  of  the  women  appear  anaemic  and  seem  to 
lack  stamina.  Under  the  most  favourable  conditions  of 
housing,  food  and  exercise,  full  vigour  may  be  maintained, 
but  it  is  not  altogether  the  gift  of  the  climate,  as  seems  to 
be  the  case  at  the  higher  altitudes.  In  summer  it  is  often 
very  hot  and  trying,  and  in  towns  a  change  to  more  brac- 
ing conditions  is  almost  necessary  to  preserve  perfect 
health. 

At  the  lower  elevations,  and  especially  on  the  coast,  the 
climate  is  more  trying  to  the  average  European.  Although 
in  many  places  the  weather  conditions  for  a  large  part  of 
the  year  are  exceedingly  pleasant,  there  is  a  lack  of  the 
tonic  bracing  qualities  which  seem  necessary  for  Euro- 
peans in  order  to  attain  and  preserve  the  fullest  vigour  and 
energy.  In  less  favourable  localities,  on  the  actual  coast 
belt,  the  winter  is  delightful,  but  the  summer  months  are 
extremely  hot,  and  the  heat  is  accompanied  by  a  moist 
enervatingi  atmosphere.  A  man  in  robust  health  may,  by 
attention  to  the  laws  of  health  and  by  consciously  striving 
to  keep  himself  fit,  maintain  perfect  health  and  vigour,  but 
the  weakly,  and  especially  women  and  children,  often 
suffer  and  become  anaemic  and  run  down. 

Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  towns  among  those 
who  live  under  less  favourable  conditions  and  who  cannot 
fit  in  their  lives  to  suit  the  climate.  The  children  born 
and  nurtured  in  the  coast  towns  are,  too  often,  below  the 
standard  of  their  home-born  parents,  and  are  somewhat 
small  framed  and  lacking  in  vigour.  As  a  rule  the  popula- 
tion hitherto  has  been  both  intelligent  and  well-to-do,  able 
to  maintain  a  fairl3^high  standard  of  living,  and  moderately 
careful  to  preserve  healthy  and  sanitary  surroundings. 
Should  a  population  be  introduced  of  a  class  likely  to  fall 
short  in  these  respects,  I  think  it  likely,  from  climatic 
reasons  alone,  the  standard  of  physique,  health,  and  vigour 
will  hardly  be  maintained.     The  effect  of  our  special  en- 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  55 

vironment — the  presence  of  the  black  man  and  the  altered 
conditions  he  imposes — will  be  discussed  later,  and  when 
we  consider  that  question  the  effect  of  climate,  which  tends 
somewhat  in  the  same  direction,  must  not  be  overlooked. 

Having  thus  analysed  the  conditions  of  the  different 
parts  of  South  East  Africa,  I  would  venture  to  generalize 
further,  and  say  that — apart  from  our  special  environment 
— the  effect  of  climate,  even  in  the  higher  parts,  is  to  reduce 
the  briskness  and  plus-energy  shown  under  harder  and 
more  bracing  conditions.  That,  other  things  being  equal, 
a  North  Briton  would  be  more  active  and  energetic  than 
a  man  from  the  high  veldt,  the  latter  than  a  middle  veldt 
man,  and  this  man  again  more  so  than  one  born  and  brought 
up  on  the  coast. 

Before  I  leave  this  part  of  my  subject,  broadly  de- 
scriptive of  the  condition  of  black  and  white  to-day,  and 
before  entering  into  the  details  of  the  argument,  it  may 
be  well  to  make  a  point  clear.  It  has  been  said  that  time 
will  settle  the  question,  that  buoyant  and  resistant  as  the 
native  has  hitherto  been  to  the  evil  effects  of  civilization, 
so  destructive  to  many  primitive  races,  he  will  succumb 
at  last  and  thus  our  problem  be  solved.  That,  as  his 
increase  lessens  that  of  the  white  man  will  continue ;  and 
that  the  latter,  as  the  country  develops,  will  be  augmented 
by  immigration  from  oversea.  Whether  we  view  such  a 
consummation  with  equanimity  or  not  it  should  be  ex- 
amined at  this  stage  of  our  inquiry. 

The  natural  mind  loves  an  inclusive  and  unqualified 
generalization.  The  somewhat  comfortable  theory  that 
the  black  and  coloured  races  always  die  away  before  the 
white  man,  often  in  some  mysterious  way  for  which  the 
latter  is  in  no  sort  responsible,  is  very  generally  accepted. 
One  may  even  read  in  responsible  works  on  sociological 
subjects  the  Maori,  Red  Indian,  the  Australian  black 
linked  up  with  the  Kaffir  as  all  solving  the  question  by 
leaving  the  arena  open  to  the  European  in  this  very 
simple  fashion. 

If  there  are  any  clear  indications   that   the  Abantu 


56  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

people  of  South  East  Africa  are  going  the  way  of  the  Red 
Man,  the  Australian  black,  and  the  Polynesian,  dying  out 
before  the  white  man  and  his  civilization,  then  the  native 
problem,  though  serious  enough  to-day,  and  likely  to  be 
so  for  a  long  time  to  come,  will  ultimately  solve  itself 

I  have  already  given  my  opinion  of  the  physical 
standard  of  these  people,  which  I  rate  very  highly ;  on 
this  and  their  fecundity  the  answer  to  this  question 
largely  depends. 

The  decline  and  disappearance  of  the  races  who  have 
gone  down  before  the  white  man  seems  to  be  due  to  several 
causes.  They  were  unable  to  make  a  place  for  themselves 
in  his  civilization  ;  their  conception  of  life  was,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Red  Man,  so  utterly  different,  that  exterminat- 
ing war  seemed  the  only  condition  possible  between  them. 
Then  the  introduction  of  European  drink  has  been  a  factor 
of  prime  importance  in  the  decline  of  all  primitive  races 
who  have  disappeared  before  the  European.  The  third 
and  perhaps  chief  cause  has  been  the  introduction  of 
diseases  hitherto  unknown  to  the  natives,  but  to  which 
the  white  man,  through  ages  of  familiarity,  was  resistant 
or  comparatively  immune. 

To  my  mind  none  of  these  causes  are  going  to  have 
the  same  effect  on  the  Abantu  as  they  have  had  on  many 
other  primitive  peoples.  They  have  shown  clearly 
enough  in  the  past,  that  they  have  a  power  of  persistence 
that  was  not  present  in  the  Australian  aborigine,  the 
Maori,  the  Polynesian,  or  the  Red  Man  ;  that,  though  con- 
servative, they  are  wonderfully  adaptable  ;  that,  whilst  the 
ideal  life  for  them  is  the  pastoral  life  of  the  kraal,  they 
can  adopt  the  role  of  labourer  in  city  or  country  without, 
so  far,  any  dire  race  results  following.  Such  a  change  of 
life  and  environment  as  would  follow  continuous  town 
life  would  doubtless,  in  time,  affect  their  general  physical 
well-being  and  cause  a  certain  amount  of  deterioration, 
possibly  in  time  lower  the  rate  of  increase,  but  it  will  be 
a  long  time  in  South  Africa  ere  such  conditions  affect  a 
large  number  of  the  Abantu.     The  vast  majority  will,  for 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  57 

the  greater  part  of  their  Hves,  dwell  in  healthy  surround- 
ings, surroundings  probably  quite  as  conducive  to  health 
and  increase  as  the  environment  of  the  majority  of  the 
whites.  Lack  of  power  to  adapt  themselves  to  the 
changed  conditions  set  up  by  Europeans  is  not  going  to 
solve  our  problem. 

The  unrestricted  supply  of  European  liquor  to  natives 
would  have  a  most  pernicious  effect  upon  them,  and  we 
may  admit  would  probably  reduce  the  race  virility  and 
fecundity.  But  whether  in  a  race  so  strong  and  accus- 
tomed, for  generations  back,  to  consume  a  certain  amount 
of  alcohol  it  would  amount  to  a  serious  reduction  in  their 
numbers  and  rate  of  increase  may  well  be  questioned.  It 
is  a  matter  largely  of  personal  opinion ;  for  myself,  I  do 
not  think  so,  I  have  never  heard  that  the  natives  resident 
in  the  Cape  Colony  proper,  who  have  access  to  drink, 
are  threatened  with  extermination,  or  that  the  negroes  of 
the  United  States  are,  as  a  race,  likely  to  die  out  from 
this  cause.  But,  after  all,  is  it  not  an  academic  question  ? 
The  white  man  of  South  East  Africa  is  not  going  to  allow 
the  black  man  to  have  free  access  to  liquor.  His  con- 
science, his  desire  for  the  security  of  his  home,  his 
interests,  are  all  against  it,  and  we  may  dismiss,  once  for 
all,  the  theory  that  there  is  any  possibility  of  the  Abantu 
being  removed  from  Africa  by  the  strong  drink  of  the 
European. 

There  remains  the  question  of  disease,  especially 
new  diseases  of  which  the  race  has  not  had  experience, 
for  it  is  this  class  which  caused  the  tremendous  mortality 
amongst  other  primitive  peoples.  The  most  virulent  of 
these  diseases  are  probably  tuberculosis,  syphilis,  and 
smallpox.  To  all  three  the  native  is,  in  a  measure,  ac- 
customed, and  already  there  has  been  a  sufficient  time 
elapsed  to  give  us  some  idea  of  the  mortality  likely  to  be 
induced  by  them.  The  reports  of  the  district  surgeons 
show  that  the  two  first  named  are  probably  extending ;  the 
use  of  clothing  without  being  able  to  command  sufficient 
change  to  ensure  cleanliness,  the  habit  of  remaining  in  wet 


58  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

garments,  are  doing  much  to  cause  the  spread  of  lung 
trouble,  access  to  towns  and  the  immoral  habits  en- 
gendered are  carrying  the  latter  to  the  one-time  clean 
homes  of  the  Abantu. 

Every  well-wisher  of  this  fine  people  will  deplore 
causes  likely  to  result  in  deterioration  of  their  naturally 
fine  physique  ;  and  whatever  Government  may  be  in  power, 
remedial  action  in  regard  to  these  diseases  will  un- 
doubtedly be  taken,  and  everything  possible  done  to 
check  deterioration  and  death  which  may  ensue.  But, 
granting  a  certain  mortality  from  these  causes,  the  ques- 
tion for  us  is  whether,  as  in  the  case  of  other  races,  it  is 
going  to  wipe  them  out,  or  even  cause  decrease  in 
numbers.  There  is  nothing,  so  far,  to  show  that  any  of 
these  three  diseases,  or  any  other  with  which  we  are  so 
far  acquainted,  is  going  to  have  much  more  effect  on  the 
Abantu  of  South  East  Africa  than  they  have  had  among 
Europeans  or  the  negroes  of  the  Southern  States.  Their 
resistant  power  may  possibly  not  be  so  high  as  among 
Europeans,  but  it  is  quite  sufficient  to  prevent  race  cal- 
amity from  this  cause. 

To  balance  any  loss  over  and  above  what  would  be 
present  among  Europeans,  we  have  to  place  their  fecundity. 
All  statistics  in  European  countries  go  to  show  a  gradual, 
in  some  cases  a  rapid,  decline  of  the  birth-rate.  The 
generally  accepted  belief  of  the  ordinary  man,  based  on 
observation,  that  smaller  families  than  in  the  days  of  our 
fathers  are  now  the  rule,  is  amply  proved  by  statistics, 
and  not  only  in  Europe  but  among  those  of  European 
descent  in  the  United  States  and  all  the  British  Colonies. 
By  some  this  is  regarded  as  the  most  disquieting  factor 
in  modern  social  life — the  limited  and  reluctant  re- 
sponse of  the  best  races  to  the  demand  of  the  race  for 
perpetuation  in  sufficient  numbers  to  achieve  their  destiny. 
Although  this  factor  is  modified  by  the  reduced  death  rate, 
especially  among  infants,  it  must  be  remembered  in  con- 
sidering the  chances  of  the  increase  of  white  and  black 
respectively  in  the  subcontinent. 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  59 

It  must,  however,  at  present  be  limited  to  Europeans 
of  British  descent,  and  more  especially  those  living  in 
towns.  In  the  country  more  natural  conditions  prevail 
and  it  is  not  so  pronounced  a  factor.  Entire  freedom 
from  whatever  is  causing  smaller  families  must,  however, 
be  claimed  for  the  country  Dutch — the  true  Boers.  Ex- 
cepting perhaps  the  French-Canadian  habitants,  no  people 
of  European  descent  is  so  prolific  as  the  South  African 
Dutch.  All  marry  at  an  early  age,  and  families  numbering 
between  twelve  and  twenty  children  are  quite  common,  and 
small  families — the  pigeon  pair  of  the  comfort-loving 
British  middle  class — are  almost  unknown.  How  far  this 
will  continue  in  the  rapidly  changing  conditions  of  their  life 
in  South  Africa  experience  only  can  show.  But  judging 
from  all  that  has  happened  elsewhere  among  peoples  of 
kindred  stock,  the  changing  environment  and  the  ab- 
sorption of  new  ideas  will  mean  smaller  and  smaller 
families. 

The  diminishing  birth-rate  among  the  comfortable  and 
well-to-do  classes  of  European  races  is  attributed  largely 
to  the  desire  on  the  part  of  parents  that  their  children 
should  inherit  or  begin  life  in  at  least  the  same  standard 
of  comfort  in  which  they  had  been  reared.  There  appears 
to  be  a  recognition,  conscious  or  unconscious,  that  large 
families  connote  a  fiercer  struggle  on  their  part  and  that 
of  their  offspring  to  retain  this  position  or  attain  a  higher 
social  and  financial  standing. 

Until  lately  these  considerations  did  not  weigh  with 
the  Dutch-speaking  population  of  South  East  Africa. 
All  were  farmers,  living  a  simple,  unostentatious,  non- 
competitive life.  The  emulation  in  houses,  furniture, 
style,  society,  so  marked  a  feature  of  communities  of 
similar  race  elsewhere,  had  little  force  in  their  lives. 
When  they  became  prosperous,  a  higher  standard  was 
often  followed,  but  even  in  these  cases  expenditure  seldom 
went  beyond  a  simple,  somewhat  austere  comfort,  in- 
creased earnings  and  accumulation  went  generally  to  pur- 
chase more  land,  not  for  speculation,  but  with  the  object 


6o  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

of  settling  thereon  their  sons  and  their  families  to  live 
the  old  life. 

However  some  of  us  may  deplore  it,  this  healthy  patri- 
archal simple  life,  making  for  many  virtues  all  too  scarce 
to-day,  is  becoming  less  and  less  possible.  The  large 
farms  with  their  possibilities  of  an  easy  pastoral  life  are 
being  subdivided,  and  on  all  sides  modern  civilization 
with  its  emulations  and  ambitions  is  impinging  on  the 
pioneer.  It  seems  hardly  possible  for  the  Boer,  con- 
servative as  he  is,  even  with  the  support  of  the  Church, 
whose  great  influence  is  on  the  side  of  the  old  life,  to 
stand  against  modern  influences.  The  tendency  will  then 
be  to  contract  the  numbers  of  the  family,  and  a  reduction 
in  the  future  of  the  high  rate  of  increase  which  has  been 
so  marked  a  feature  in  the  past,  and  which  has  done  so 
much  for  the  settlement  of  South  Africa  and  the  peopling 
of  its  waste  spaces  with  this  virile  and  solid  race. 

The  Abantu  are  a  prolific  people  not  hampered  in 
their  progress  by  the  considerations  which  have  so  seri- 
ously diminished  the  increase  among  many  Europeans. 
Every  woman  marries  and  an  unmarried  adult  man  is 
rare.  Accurate  statistics  are  not  readily  available,  but 
the  fact  of  their  rapid  increase  in  numbers  is  so  apparent 
that  colonists  looking  around  for  some  reason  have  often 
ascribed  it  to  polygamy;  and  feeling  that  this  apparently 
supernormal  increase  was  inimical  to  the  interests  of 
their  own  race,  have  on  this  ground  advocated  the  aboli- 
tion of  polygamy.  It  is  remarkable  how  widely  this 
theory  is  held,  and  especially  remarkable  as  it  requires 
but  little  thought  to  see  that  polygamy  qua  polygamy 
cannot  account  for  a  higher  rate  of  increase  than  if  mono- 
gamy was  the  universal  custom.  It  is  the  females  of  a 
race  who  are  the  great  factor  in  race  increase,  and  if,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Abantu,  every  woman  is  married  as  she 
comes  to  the  age  of  puberty,  then  it  matters  little  whether 
she  is  one  of  the  wives  of  a  polygamist  or  the  only  wife 
of  a  monogamist ;  indeed  for  certain  reasons,  which  need 
not  be  detailed  here,  the  probability  is  that  the  increase 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  6i 

of  the  race  is  greater  under  the  latter  than  under  the 
former  system. 

Dr.  G.  M.  Theal  some  years  ago  addressed  a  series  of 
questions  to  men  acquainted  with  natives  and  their  Hfe 
through  the  native  affairs  department  of  the  Cape  Colony. 
One  of  these  questions  referred  to  polygamy,  which  we 
are  now  discussing,  and  was  thus  put  by  Dr.  Theal — 
"  What  is  the  average  number  of  children  of  women 
married  (a)  to  monogamists,  (h)  to  polygamists  ?  In  the 
reply  to  this  query  please  state  the  number  of  women  from 
whom  the  calculations  are  made.  The  greater  the  number 
the  better,  but  care  must,  of  course,  be  taken  not  to  include 
women  who  are  still  capable  of  child-bearing.  The  only 
reliable  plan  will  be  to  question  the  old  women  and 
ascertain  how  many  children  she  has  given  birth  to  and 
how  many  wives  her  husband  has  had.  If  the  husband 
was  a  monogamist  note  whether  Christianity  had  been 
embraced.  The  greatest  possible  accuracy  is  requisite  to 
make  the  reply  to  this  query  of  value." 

Among  the  replies  was  one  from  Mr,  Donald  Strachan 
of  Umzimkulu,  one  of  the  oldest  European  residents  in 
East  Griqualand,  known  all  over  the  Transkeian  territories 
and  Natal  as  one  having  exceptional  knowledge  of,  and  in- 
fluence with  the  natives.  As  Dr.  Theal  remarks,  his  answer 
was  of  exceptional  value,  and  evident  pains  had  been  taken 
to  obtain  reliable  information.  Mr.  Strachan  made  a  return 
embracing  393  women,  the  wives  or  widows  of  mono- 
gamists, and  591  women  the  wives  or  widows  of  poly- 
gamists. The  393  women,  wives  of  monogamists,  had 
borne  2223  children  or  an  average  of  5 '65  to  each  woman. 
The  591  women,  wives  of  polygamists,  had  borne  3298 
children,  that  is  an  average  of  5*58  children  to  each  woman. 
Neither  monogamy  nor  polygamy  in  this  authentic  case 
made  any  appreciable  difference  in  the  birth  rate. 

The  numbers  of  the  sexes  born  among  the  natives  is 
practically^  what  it  is  among  Europeans,  probably  an 
average  of  106  females  for  each  100  males,  which  under 
a  social  system  providing  that  the  normal  life  of  every 


62  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

man  is  marriage,  is  not  a  great  super-abundance  of  females 
to  provide  for  the  polygamist.  The  actual  result  of  the 
system  as  it  stands  is  that,  as  a  means  of  production,  it 
is  probably  nearly  perfect,  for  some  statistics  show  the 
number  of  women  who  have  never  borne  children  is  less 
than  3  per  cent  of  the  whole !  Our  common  observa- 
tion will  make  it  clear  to  us  that  the  proportion  among 
Europeans  is,  at  least,  four  or  five  times  as  high. 

But  the  amount  of  polygamy  among  the  natives  has 
been  much  exaggerated ;  the  majority  are  monogamists, 
and  the  practice  of  polygamy,  under  various  influences, 
is  becoming  less  common. 

The  following  table  is  a  comparison  of  the  position  in 
Natal  in  1905  and  1909  : — 

1905  over 

Total  marriages    ist  wife,    2nd,    3rd,   4th,  5th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  gth,  loth,       10 
6404.  3744,      1285,  355,   116,    54,     10,     9,      4,       o,       I,  5 

or  a  total  of  1834  polygamous  marriages  as  against  3744 
who  were  marrying  their  first  wife. 

In  1909  the  position  was  as  under  : — 

over 
Total  marriages    ist  wife,    2nd,    3rd,   4th,  5th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  gth,  loth,       10 
5981.  3465,      io6r,  297,    97,     29,     20,      5,      5,       I,       9,  I 

or  a  total  of  1525  marriages  of  wives  beyond  the  first  as 
compared  with  3465  who  were  taking  their  first  wife. 

Dr.  Theal  deliberately  gives  as  his  opinion  that  in  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  we  had  in  the  Abantu 
"a  people  possessing  greater  power  of  increasing  their 
number  rapidly  than  any  other  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ". 
He  recognizes  the  probability  that  this  fecundity  will 
decrease  as  time  goes  on,  but  evidently  thinks  that,  even 
under  changed  and  in  some  respects  less  favourable  condi- 
tions, rapid  increase  will  continue  with  settled  and  stable 
government  which  prevents  the  wholesale  decimation  by 
war  and  witchcraft  of  past  times. 

He  makes  a  comparison  of  the  number  of  children 
under  fifteen  with  that  of  females  over  fifteen  years  of  age. 
It  is  a  comparison  not  usually  made  but  bears  out  his 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  63 

contention   given    above.     The    table   was   compiled    in 
1881  :— 

England  and  Wales iio'iy 

Canada    ........      12473 

United  States  (European)        ....      13076 

Australia  .         .  .         .         .         .         .      145 '62 

Abantu  of  S.  Africa  under  least  favourable 

conditions         ......      i69'98 

New  Zealand  ......      ijyiG 

Abantu  under  most  favourable  conditions  .  195 "00 
Granting  then  a  virile  people,  all  the  women  of 
whom  marry,  who  exercise  no  artificial  restraints,  but  to 
whom  a  man  child  is  strength  to  the  clan  and  a  woman 
child  more  cattle  in  the  kraal,  increase  by  birth  must  be 
rapid.  Statistics,  as  I  said  before,  are  difficult  to  obtain, 
they  are  often  guesses  and  not  brought  up  to  date,  and 
from  them  it  would  not  be  possible  to  say  exactly  how 
rapid  this  increase  may  be,  but  it  is  undoubtedly^  great, 
though  apparently  varying  in  different  parts  of  South  East 
Africa.  Every  year  in  Natal  and  Zululand  the  hut  tax 
returns  are  greater,  and  though  registration  of  births  and 
deaths  is  very  faulty,  the  births  always  greatly  exceed  the 
deaths. 

It  would  appear,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  that 
during  the  last  five  years  in  Natal  proper,  nearly  140,000 
natives  have  been  born  and  some  65,000  have  died  out  of 
a  population  averaging  during  that  period  some  730,000 
souls.  The  birth  rate  per  1000  would  thus  be  37'42  and 
the  death  rate  1776  for  this  period.  Infant  mortalit}^ 
was  and  is  very  high  :  out  of  a  total  number  of  138,080 
born  from  1905  to  1909,  21,895  died  before  reaching  the 
age  of  one  year.  This  tremendous  mortality  has  been 
allowed  for  in  our  previous  figures,  which  show  that  to 
a  population  of  730,000,  15,000  are  added  every  year. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  health  officer,  the  native 
population  of  Natal  will  double  itself  every  thirty-seven 
years.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  kraals,  which  were  60,003  i^i  1905  and  70,087  in  1909. 


64  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

The  rate  of  increase  seems  to  be  higher  in  the  Cape 
Colony.  In  1891  the  native  population  was  838,136;  and 
in  1904,  1,158,980,  or  an  increase  of  25*24  per  thousand 
yearly,  thus  doubling  the  population  in  a  little  less  than 
28  years.  But  the  increase  is  most  marvellous  in  Basuto- 
land.  Sir  Godfrey  Lagden  gives  the  following  figures  in 
his  book  on  the  Basuto  : — 

In  1891,  218,324;  in  1904,  347,731,  or  a  doubling  of  the 
population  in  a  little  under  twenty  years ! 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  these  very  different  rates  of 
increase,  but  they  all  go  to  establish  what  we  must  take 
as  a  fact,  that  the  native  increase  in  different  areas  and 
under  different  conditions  is  everywhere  large  and  in 
some  cases  phenomenal. 

Not  then  by  the  dying  out  of  the  Abantu  are  we  going 
to  solve  our  problem.  What  appears  on  the  surface  is 
supported  by  statistics,  confirmed  by  full  observation  and 
inquiry.  We  have  here  a  race  who  can  persist  against 
strange  or  untoward  conditions,  are  resistant  against 
disease,  so  fertile  that  every  year  they  make  up  for  all 
drawbacks  and  losses  and  add  another  horde  to  the  race. 
Our  problem  includes  the  fact  that  the  disproportion 
between  white  and  black  in  South  East  Africa  is  not 
going  to  be  altered  by  the  failure  of  the  black  man  to 
propagate  his  race. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TRIBALISM— THE  OLD  SOCIALIST  AND  THE  NEW 
INDIVIDUALIST. 

A  TRAVELLER  aloDg  the  Toads  of  Natal  and  Zululand,  will 
sometimes  come  across  a  cavalcade  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
natives,  dressed  in  all  kinds  of  heterogeneous  garments, 
some  in  blankets  only,  mounted  on  rough  ponies,  follow- 
ing a  single  horseman  who  is  often  of  large  proportions 
and  dressed  in  European  riding  costume.  This  is  the 
chief  and  his  body-guard,  his  counsellors  and  praisers. 
He  breaks  into  a  hand  gallop,  and  after  him  clatter  as 
hard  as  they  can  follow  the  tail,  one  or  more  shouting  at 
full  pitch  the  name  and  titles  of  his  chief,  his  bravery, 
generosity,  his  power  and  wealth.  They  arrive  at  a  little 
store  remote  in  the  wilds,  kept  by  a  European.  The 
chief  dismounts  and  his  followers  salute  vociferously  as  he 
enters  the  store.  Though  evidently  fully  conscious  of 
his  standing  and  position — even  did  he  desire  to  forget  it 
his  praisers  would  not  allow  him  to  do  so — he  is  respect- 
ful to  the  white  man,  making  no  pretence  at  equality 
with  him — a  few  purchases  are  made,  possibly  the  re- 
tainers are  treated,  then  boot  and  saddle  is  called,  and 
away  they  clatter  down  the  stony  road  to  their  home  in 
the  depths  of  the  native  location. 

Trekking  slowly  along  the  road  on  the  grassy  uplands 
beyond  the  Umhlatuzi  in  Zululand,  we  met  files  of 
natives  carrying  all  kinds  of  gear  and  food.  One  boy  a 
stool,  another  a  few  mats,  another  a  huge  piece  of  beef 
A  gap,  then  came  another  gang,  similarly  laden,  singing 
as  they  went.  Hundreds  were  thus  passed  and  there 
was  much  conjecture  as  to  the  reason  of  this  unusual 
migration.     At  last,  surrounded  by  old,  dignified,  astutc- 

65  '  5 


66  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH   EAST  AFRICA 

looking  counsellors  and  chiefs,  came  the  one  to  whom  all 
these  people  were  voluntarily  and  gladly  giving  their 
unrecompensed  service,  Dinuzulu,  the  child  of  the  Royal 
House,  the  man  who,  to  them,  stood  for  their  race. 

On  a  small  plain,  at  the  foot  of  a  huge  fantastic 
mountain  whose  bastions  glittered  in  the  sun,  were 
numerous  ponies  grazing,  and  a  great  crowd  of  men  and 
boys  gathered  on  a  cleared  space  and  beating  with  sticks 
the  collected  grain.  They  were  of  the  Basuto  race,  and 
engaged,  for  the  honour  of  the  clan,  in  threshing  the 
harvest  of  a  son  of  Moshesh. 

Scenes  such  as  these  may  be  observed  in  all  the  more 
remote  parts  of  South  East  Africa  where  the  people  still 
live,  as  did  their  fathers,  recognizing  their  kinship  in  the 
tribe  and  the  chief  as  the  visible  embodiment  of  their 
communal  life.  All  their  life  is  centred  in  the  tribal 
organization  ;  they  live,  not  unto  themselves,  but  to  the 
tribe  and  chief,  and  unless  the  depth  of  this  attachment 
is  recognized,  the  true  inwardness  of  the  black  man's  life, 
mentality,  and  ideals  will  be  missed.  I  suppose  no  white 
man  can  fully  understand  the  attitude  of  the  native  to 
his  clan.  Judging  from  innumerable  instances  of  fidelity, 
self-sacrifice,  even  immolation,  there  must  be  fibres  in 
the  being  of  the  native,  responding  at  once  to  the  social 
call,  which  are  either  non-existent  or  are  never  similarly 
touched  in  the  white  man.  At  the  call  of  his  hereditary 
chief,  the  strong  but  subordinate  claims  of  wife  and  child, 
the  allurements  of  cattle  and  girls  are  forgotten,  no 
personal  advantage,  no  comforts  are  considered — the 
chief  as  representing  themselves — the  whole  body,  of 
which  they  form  an  integral  and  indissoluble  part — has 
called,  all  is  thrown  aside  and  jubilantly  the  tribesmen 
respond. 

The  white  man  has  his  attachment  to  the  town  or 
county  in  which  he  was  born  and  reared,  and  his  larger 
patriotism  to  the  country  to  which  he  belongs.  But  he 
demands  individual  rights,  and  his  energies  are  mainly 
devoted  to  obtaining  for  himself  and  family  better  material 


TRIBALISM  67 

conditions,  a  greater  social  recognition  ;  he  is  by  race, 
upbringing,  environment,  an  Individualist.  In  proportion 
to  the  time,  thought,  emotion  he  devotes  to  his  private 
and  personal  ends,  that  given  to  the  community  is  small. 
The  native  as  he  was,  and  as  he  largely  is,  cannot  con- 
ceive that  he  has  rights  against  those  of  the  tribe,  de- 
votes only  a  small  portion  of  his  time  to  actual  personal 
ends,  realizes  his  life  in  the  tribe  and  in  his  chief,  and  is, 
in  every  fibre  of  his  being,  a  Socialist. 

In  essence,  the  tribal  system  is  the  same  throughout 
all  the  people  we  are  considering,  whether  belonging  to 
the  Zulu  or  Basuto  side  of  the  Abantu.  In  the  former  it 
may  be  said  generally  the  chief  has  more  autocratic 
power ;  in  the  latter  the  people,  through  the  counsellors, 
exercise  a  greater  restraint  on  the  actions  of  the  chief, 
but,  with  minor  distinctions,  the  system  is  the  same,  and 
in  both  branches  it  is  woven  into  the  very  being  of  the 
people. 

At  the  base  of  the  s^^stem  is  the  family,  of  which  the 
head  of  the  kraal  is  the  responsible  unit.  He  may  have 
one  or  more  wives,  generally  speaking  as  many  as  he  can 
obtain,  the  necessary  cattle  with  which  to  pay  the  lobolo 
being  the  only  impediment.  The  wives  take  their  status 
according  to  ancient  custom,  and  both  they  and  their 
children  are  under  the  direct  rule  of  the  kraal  head.  The 
boys  and  young  men  have  recognized  duties,  the  girls  and 
unmarried  women  their  understood  work.  Cattle  and 
other  property  is  given  to  the  house  of  each  wife,  which 
then  belongs  to  it,  but  the  bulk  remains  the  property  of 
the  kraal,  vested  in  its  head.  In  old  days,  before  work  for 
wages  was  known,  the  question  of  ownership  of  such 
earnings  did  not  arise.  Now  it  is  generally  understood 
that  in  the  case  of  the  younger  members  of  the  family 
they  belong  to  the  father;  as  they  get  older  a  proportion 
is  reserved  to  the  individual,  but  this  varies  according  as 
individualistic  ideas  have  invaded  and  broken  down  the 
old  conceptions. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  father  to,  at 

5* 


68   BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

least,  materially  assist  his  sons  to  the  acquirement  of  the 
cattle  necessary  to  procure  a  wife. 

In  family  matters  it  lay  upon  the  kraal  head  to  keep 
order  and  maintain  discipline,  and  in  this  direction  he  had 
considerable  power.  He  was,  in  matters  affecting  the 
tribe,  responsible  for  the  behaviour  of  the  inmates  of  his 
kraal,  and  under  obligation  to  report  to  the  induna  of  his 
district  and  through  him  to  the  chief,  any  matters  coming 
to  his  knowledge  affecting  or  likely  to  affect  the  tribe  as 
a  whole.  To  enable  him  so  to  do,  it  behoved  every  kraal 
resident  to  report  at  once  such  matters  to  the  kraal  head. 

The  continuity  of  the  family  was  secured  by  a  recog- 
nized system  of  devolution,  the  eldest  son  of  the  principal 
wife  being  the  heir.  He  not  only  took  the  place  of  his 
father  in  respect  to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  property,  but 
undertook  his  responsibilities  and  duties,  and  if  there  were 
any  liabilities,  financial  or  otherwise,  he  had  to  shoulder 
them.  Among  natives  debt  never  dies,  the  individual 
incurring  the  debt  may  die,  but  his  representative,  the 
one  who  takes  his  place,  takes  it  in  respect  of  all  respon- 
sibilities as  well  as  privileges. 

I  think  perhaps  this  particular  feature  of  native  life 
will  bring  home  to  the  average  reader  the  radical  difference 
between  his  outlook  and  that  of  the  black  man ;  with  us 
to  every  man  his  own  responsibility,  the  individualistic ; 
with  him  the  responsibility  of  the  family,  the  socialistic. 
With  us  the  individual  may  free  himself  from  all  his 
liabilities  by  surrender,  and  such  surrender  will  only 
include  what  can  be  proved  to  belong  to  him — the  estate 
of  his  wife,  of  his  son,  is  their  own  and  free ;  the  latter 
may  be  rich  though  the  head  of  the  house  may  be  dragged 
through  the  bankruptcy  court.  To  a  native,  this  would 
be  unthinkable,  as  is  the  process  by  which  a  man  can 
repudiate  debts  he  has  contracted  and  yet  be  blameless. 
For  him  there  is  no  such  relief,  if  he  cannot  pay  to-day 
he  must  to-morrow,  and  if  he  dies  his  son  must  take  on 
the  family  burden  after  him. 

I  have  known  of  cases  in  which  a  man  contracted  a 


TRIBALISM  69 

small  debt,  and  careless  or  unable  to  pay  at  the  time  let  it 
run  on.  The  lender,  a  white  man,  charged  interest  at 
usurious  rates  and  the  debt  accumulated.  Demand  was 
made,  judgment  obtained,  and  the  debtor's  effects  were  sold 
up,  including  his  growing  crops.  At  a  forced  sale,  right 
away  in  the  location,  they  realized  a  mere  fraction  of  their 
value,  and  though  stripped  of  everything  the  debt  re- 
mained, nay  was  1  daily  increasing  by  addition  of  com- 
pound interest.  I  have  known  such  a  debt  twenty  years 
old  and  at  the  end  of  the  time  be  six  times  the  amount 
of  the  original  sum,  and  yet  the  debtor  had  been  sold 
up  three  times.  The  debtor  died  and  his  son  took  on  the 
burden  ;  it  was  his  father's  and  it  belonged  to  him.  What 
would  a  white  man  do  or  think  if  he  were  in  such  a  case  ? 

A  certain  number  of  kraals  in  one  district  are  generally 
treated  as  a  unit,  and  over  them  is  a  headman  recognized 
by  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  and  in  turn  responsible  for  the 
district,  as  the  several  kraal  heads  are  for  their  individual 
families. 

Again,  above  these  is  the  chief  to  whom  the  whole 
tribe  looks.  In  no  part  of  South  East  Africa  have  the 
chiefs  the  power  they  had  under  native  regime,  and  their 
power  is  usually  in  inverse  ratio  to  their  contact  with  the 
white  man,  his  government,  and  his  individualistic 
methods.  In  Basutoland  and  Zululand  their  power,  pres- 
tige, and  authority  are  greater  than  in  Natal,  and  in  Natal  it 
is  greater  than  in  the  Transkei.  Every  native  in  Natal  who 
has  not  been  specially  exempted  from  native  law  by  passing 
certain  tests  and  being  personally  approved  by  the  Su- 
preme Chief,  must  be  attached  to  some  tribe,  no  matter 
whether  he  lives  in  a  house  or  hut,  is  a  barbarian  or 
civilized.  It  appears  singular  to  those  to  whom  tribalism 
connotes  barbarism  to  find  that  civilized  and  Christian 
natives,  living  in  surroundings  at  least  as  advanced  as 
those  of  some  of  the  peasantry  of  Europe,  are  part  of  the 
following  of  a  chief  and  subject  to  his  jurisdiction,  liable, 
among  other  things,  to  be  called  out  by  him  for  compulsory 
labour  on  the  roads.     But  so  it  is,  and  though  some  of 


70  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  advanced  natives  desire  and  obtain  emancipation,  the 
tribal  idea  is  so  ingrained  in  their  being  that  they  accept 
the  position  of  tribesmen  and  its  limitations  and  obligations 
with  what  appears  to  the  European  marvellous  resigna- 
tion. 

According  to  native  custom  the  people  of  the  tribe  be- 
long to  the  chief;  he  has  a  right  to  service  under  certain 
conditions,  can  call  them  out  to  war,  can  punish  for  offences 
against  himself  and  the  tribe.  Men  who  would  disdain  to 
do  certain  menial  labour,  which  was  accounted  the  work  of 
women,  for  themselves,  will  willingly  give  such  service  to 
the  chief  if  called  upon  to  do  so.  His  exact  powers  varied 
with  different  tribes  and  at  different  times  among  the 
same  tribe,  and  much  depended  on  his  character  and 
personality.  Zulu  history  shows  that  a  tyrant  may  de- 
luge his  country  with  blood,  no  man  being  safe  from  his 
oppression,  and  be  followed  by  others  whose  rule  was  mild 
by  comparison.  This  has  probably  been  the  history  of 
chieftainship  among  the  Abantu  in  the  past.  A  warlike 
and  sanguinary  despot  has  laid  a  heavy  yoke  on  his 
people,  and  was  tolerated  while  in  the  full  tide  of  his 
strength  ;  when  it  became  unbearable  he  was  dealt  with 
as  was  Tyaka,  and  followed  by  one  who  instituted  a 
milder   era. 

For  it  must  be  remembered  that  though  the  chiefs 
had  power  which  we  would  deem  despotic,  in  the  last 
resort  they  only  ruled  as  representing  the  people,  and 
there  are  checks  which,  though  sometimes  held  long  in 
abeyance,  work  relief  at  last.  Tyaka  became  unsupport- 
able,  and  the  people  recognized,  when  he  was  killed  by 
Dingaan,  that  the  time  had  come.  An  ordinary  chief  can- 
not act  in  despite  of  the  general  opinion  of  his  people  for 
any  length  of  time,  and  although  there  are  no  constitu- 
tional checks  as  we  understand  them,  and  no  system  by 
which  the  people's  will  on  any  subject  can  be  definitely 
stated,  it  can  be  made  known  in  many  ways,  and  public 
opinion  counts  for  much  in  the  tribal  system.  Attached 
to  the  Court  of  the  chief  were  counsellors,  men  of  age  and 


TRIBALISM  71 

established  repute,  not  elected,  but  recognized  by  virtue 
of  their  ability  and  popularity,  who  were  consulted  on  all 
matters  of  importance,  and  who,  in  some  measure,  reflected 
and  voiced  the  opinion  of  the  tribe.  Much,  of  course,  in  an 
elastic  system  such  as  this,  depended  on  the  character  of 
the  chief  and  his  counsellors,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  in  the  majority  of  cases,  great  as  was  the  devotion  to 
chief  as  chief,  the  will  of  the  people  prevailed,  though 
meantime  a  powerful  ruler  might  do  much  in  opposition 
to  it. 

The  land  of  the  tribe  was  vested  in  the  chief  as  trustee 
for  the  community,  and  in  return  for  the  tribal  fidelity 
and  service  of  the  people  it  was  his  duty  to  find  a  place  on 
the  land  sufficient  to  their  several  needs  for  all  those  of  the 
tribe  who  needed  it. 

As  trustee  and  personal  representative  of  the  clan  he 
had  great  powers,  but  he  had  great  responsibilities.  If,  as 
chief,  he  could  call  out  the  men  of  the  tribe  to  war,  it 
behoved  him  to  so  conduct  operations,  personally  or  by 
deputy,  that  the  tribe  should  not  be  worsted  and  broken  up  ; 
but  be  increased  in  power  and  prestige  by  his  actions. 
If  as  chief  he  could  demand  personal  service,  he  must  in 
turn  see  that  every  man  had  land  on  which  he  could  make 
his  living.  He  had  power  to  protect  the  tribe  from  anti- 
social acts  on  the  part  of  any  member  of  it,  even  to  life 
and  death,  but  this  power  must  not  be  used  in  arbitrary 
fashion  too  often,  or  with  a  sole  eye  to  personal  advantage  ; 
it  must  have  social  sanction. 

To  understand  the  attitude  of  the  native  mind  to  this 
system  is,  to  the  white  man,  with  his  present-day  ideas 
of  the  rights  of  individuals  to  the  full  reward  of  personal 
efforts,  to  abstract  justice  before  a  court  of  his  peers,  to 
freely  express  his  opinions — none  daring  to  make  him 
afraid,  is,  I  say,  extremel}^  difficult.  It  appears  to  me,  how- 
ever, that  no  right  understanding  of  the  black  man  is 
possible  unless  we  can  in  this  respect,  at  least  approxi- 
mately, put  ourselves  in  his  place. 

Superficial  observers,   impregnated  with  the  ideas  of 


72  BLACK  AND  WHITE   IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

their  race,  condemn  the  system  root  and  branch,  and  would 
incontinently  make  an  end  of  it.  They  regard  the  natives 
as  groaning  under  a  despot  who  for  his  own  personal  gain, 
and  base  and  selfish  ends,  fines  them  for  trifling  offences 
to  fill  his  own  pockets,  punishes  them  for  imaginary 
offences  such  as  witchcraft,  demands  service  when  they 
have  the  inalienable  right  to  it  for  their  sole  personal 
benefit. 

Not  so  does  the  black  man  regard  it. 

He  may  not  be  able  to  formulate  his  views,  sub-con- 
sciously only  may  they  be  held,  but  they  are  part  of  his 
being,  the  result  of  his  race  genius,  the  outcome  of  the 
thought  and  mind-working  of  generations  of  his  ancestors. 
Individually  he  stands  alone  and  helpless  against  the 
mighty  and  mysterious  powers  of  Nature,  the  super- 
natural, and  the  constant  warring  of  his  enemies  who  sur- 
round him  on  every  hand.  Only  by  combination  with 
those  of  his  own  race  can  he  hope  to  combat  these 
dangers  and  remain  alive,  and  he  is  willing,  nay  joyful 
indeed,  to  become  personally  subservient  to  the  social 
order  which  makes  him  strong  enough  to  survive.  So, 
gladly  as  one  of  the  clan,  he  puts  into  the  hands  of  its 
representative,  he  who  stands  for  all,  powers  which  are 
to  protect  all.  He  is  the  chiefs  man  because  the  chief  is 
the  tribe,  the  personal  embodiment  of  all. 

If  analysed,  it  will  be  found  that  the  powers  of  the 
chief,  which  we  often  regard  as  designed  by  himself  for 
his  own  advantage,  are  delegated  to  him  for  social  ends 
and  to  protect  the  tribe  against  social  disintegration. 
He  goes  to  war,  in  the  eyes  of  the  clan  not  for  his  own 
glory,  but  to  increase  the  power  and  possessions  of  the 
tribe,  to  add  to  the  prestige  of  all.  He  punishes  witch- 
craft because  the  evil  doers,  by  their  anti-social  arts,  kill 
men  and  diminish  the  strength  of  the  clan,  and  he,  as 
representing  the  people,  has  the  power  to  take  their 
possessions  into  better  keeping  for  the  public  good.  He 
fines  his  subjects  for  murder,  keeping  the  fines  himself 
and  only  giving  a  portion   to  the  relatives  of  the   dead 


TRIBALISM  73 

man,  because  he,  as  the  representative  of  the  tribe,  has 
been  injured  in  the  reduction  of  its  fighting  strength. 
He  carries  out  what,  to  his  European  critics,  seem  absurd 
regulations  based  on  ancient  custom,  such  as  the  prohi- 
bition to  eat  the  green  crops  until  he  has  gone  through 
some  apparently  ridiculous  forms  and  ceremonies.  But 
these  forms  are  sanctioned  by  the  people,  and  mean  that 
the  food  of  the  nation  shall  not  be  squandered,  and  all  be 
in  danger  of  starvation,  through  the  greed  and  impro- 
vidence of  the  few. 

Cause  and  effect  are  difficult  to  trace  in  social  affairs. 
What  is  really  an  effect  we  often  consider  the  cause,  and 
what  is,  at  bottom,  a  cause,  we  think  an  effect.  How  far 
the  tribal  system  as  outlined  is  the  cause  of  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  native  mind  and  life  (as  indicated 
in  a  previous  chapter),  or  to  what  extent  his  character 
has  formed  his  social  system  one  cannot  tell, — probably 
character  in  part  formed  the  system,  and  the  system  re- 
acted on  character.  I  think,  however,  we  may  profitably 
revert  to  one  or  two  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Abantu  in 
the  light  of  what  we  know  of  the  social  order  of  the  people. 

I  have  pointed  out  how  extraordinarily  law-abiding 
these  people  are  even  to-day  ;  a  respect  for  law  seems 
ingrained  into  their  being.  Certainly  to  that  end  the 
tribal  system  tended.  Every  Zulu  in  the  land,  said 
Cetywayo,  knew  the  law.  And  knowing  it  he  kept  it. 
It  may  and  has  been  said  that  this  was  due  to  the  drastic 
punishment  meted  out  to  offenders.  To  some  extent  this 
is  true,  but  the  spirit  of  the  people  made  the  law,  and 
their  sanction  w^as  in  the  end  the  justification  for  the 
punishments. 

Their  hospitality  and  unselfishness,  the  willingness  to 
share  all  with  their  tribesmen,  and  at  the  same  time  their 
cruelty  and  indifference  to  suffering,  have  been  mentioned. 
To  some  extent,  the  latter  is  due  to  their  disregard  to 
what  we  consider  comfort  and  their  comparative  in- 
difference to  pain.  But  may  it  not  be  that  the  friendly 
and  hospitable  attitude  is  due  to  the  sub-conscious  feeling 


74  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

that  it  is  against  the  interests  of  the  community  to  allow 
people  who  form  the  strength  of  the  clan  to  starve,  and 
that  common  interests  and  action  demand  common 
obligations?  And  their  cruelty,  which  was  principally 
shown  in  punishments  for  witchcraft,  when  indescribable 
tortures  were  often  inflicted,  was  because  this  was  re- 
garded as  the  greatest  anti-social  crime  and  no  penalty 
was  too  heavy  to  punish  it  adequately. 

I  remember  when  I  first  came  to  Natal  being  struck 
by  the  absence  of  anything  like  emulation  in  the  work 
done  by  the  natives.  No  one  tried  to  excel  the  others ; 
if  the  work  was  laborious,  such  as  lifting  heavy  weights 
to  a  height,  the  experienced  European  overseer  incited 
them  to  general  co-operation,  to  rhythmic  action,  and  as 
one  body,  singing  in  common,  they  lifted  or  pushed  in 
harmony.  Longer  experience  of  and  with  the  Abantu 
shows  me  that  my  half-instinctive  impression  of  those 
days  was  right,  and  that  I  recognized  the  fundamental  clan 
instinct  which  underlies  and  explains  so  much,  though, 
not  in  those  early  days,  realizing  its  full  significance. 

The  European,  saturated  with  individualism,  always 
on  the  lookout  to  obtain  individual  advantage  to  help  on 
his  social  or  material  position  among  his  fellows,  sees  what 
he  considers  "openings"  for  the  native  to  do  the  same. 
If  he  only  bought  a  cart  or  wagon  he  could  utilize  the 
fat  and  lazy  oxen  eating  off  their  heads  in  idleness,  ride 
transport,  and  thus  make  money  for  himself;  if  he  used 
the  manure  l^^ing  in  the  kraal  to  fertilize  his  garden  the 
crops  would  be  doubled,  and  'instead  of  having  barel}' 
sufficient  for  his  family  needs  he  could  sell  and  again  make 
money.  The  white  man  sees  that  the  native  lives  in  a 
situation  which  commands  the  trade  of  a  district,  and 
which  if  utilized  would  enable  him  to  make  money  in 
barter  and  trade.  But  the  black  man,  though  these  "  open- 
ings "  may  be  pointed  out  to  him,  and  he  be  urged  to  take 
advantage  of  them,  does  not  respond,  excepting,  perhaps, 
by  politely  acknowledging  the  superior  insight  of  the 
white  man  ;  he  makes  no  movement  to  secure  for  himself 


TRIBALISM  75 

the  benefits  so  patent  to  the  European.  The  latter  stands 
aghast  at  such  obvious  stupidit^^ ;  that  any  human  being 
should  continue  to  live  in  such  hand  to  mouth  fashion 
when  comparative  wealth  could  be  obtained  by  small  out- 
lay and  effort  is  inconceivable  to  him,  and  he  brands  the 
native  as  incorrigibly  lazy  and  worthless  in  his  scheme  of 
things.  Indeed,  the  native  has  not  been  touched  by  the 
appeal  and  the  "tips".  He  is  a  black  man  and  it  is  not 
his  way. 

He  cannot  tell  you  the  reason  for  his  unresponsive- 
ness for  he  does  not  know  it  himself,  but  he  feels  it  in  his 
very  being.  He  is  not  for  himself  as  is  the  white  man,  he 
is  one  of  many  forming  the  clan,  the  tribe,  the  nation 
which  was  built  up  and  can  only  be  perpetuated  in  its 
present  form  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  individual  for  the 
common  good.  You  will  be  told  by  those  who  live  among 
the  tribes  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  any  individual 
to  diverge  from  the  old  customs  sanctioned  by  use  and 
wont  during  past  generations,  that  if  an  individual  plants 
trees,  uses  manure,  grows  rich  by  novel  methods,  it  is  not 
looked  upon  with  favour.  In  the  ancient  days,  such  a  one 
would  be  clearly  shown  that  his  innovations  were  regarded 
as  anti-social  by  being  eaten  up  on  a  charge  of  witchcraft. 
To-day,  this  is  not  possible,  but  pressure,  impalpable, 
though  no  less  felt,  makes  the  individualist  feel  that  he  is 
not  playing  the  game.  But  such  pressure  is  not  often 
exercised,  for  sub-consciously  each  tribal  unit  feels  he 
would  be  shaking  a  little  mortar  out  of  the  clan-structure 
by  initiating  such  unrecognized  innovations,  and  he  follows 
the  ancient  custom,  though  all  around  he  sees  the  material 
benefits  the  white  man  heaps  up  to  himself  by  thinking 
out  and  adopting  other  methods. 

It  would  not  be  possible,  probably  it  would  be  unthink- 
able, for  an  ordinary  native  to  anal3'se  and  discuss  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  his  social  system.  It 
is  so  much  a  part  of  him,  he  accepts  it  as  so  much  a  part 
of  the  unalterable  scheme  of  things,  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  detach  himself  sufticientl}'  to  view  it 


yd  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

from  the  outside.  But  taking  his  place,  we  can,  I  think,  if 
we  view  it  impartially  and  without  race  bias,  if  we  free 
ourselves  from  our  accustomed  accepted  standpoint,  see 
many  advantages  to  the  native  from  his  utter  and  com- 
plete acceptance  of  the  tribal  system  and  what  it  implies. 

First  and  most  obvious,  it  has  made  possible  the 
continued  individual  and  family  life  of  the  people.  United, 
with  recognized  responsibilities,  under  a  chief  who  had 
authority  to  maintain  ordered  rule,  to  organize  the  tribe 
so  as  to  strengthen  its  position  by  attack  or  maintain  itself 
against  invasion,  the  tribe  stood  for  the  possibility  of 
living  at  all.  Divided  into  family  units,  without  the 
strength  given  by  their  cohesive  instincts,  the  Abantu 
might,  ere  this,  have  been  on  the  road  down  which  the 
Bushman  has  disappeared. 

Tribal  politics,  the  co-operation  necessitated  by  the 
common  interests,  the  subordination  of  selfish  ends  to  the 
well-being  of  the  whole,  have  undoubtedly  been  a  great 
factor  in  forming  the  character  of  the  native  and  making 
him,  for  better  or  worse,  what  he  is.  As  pointed  out,  to 
the  influence  of  his  associated  relations  must,  in  part  at 
least,  be  credited  some  of  his  best  and  most  likeable  quali- 
ties, his  courtesy,  kindliness,  hospitality. 

When  the  Zulus  and  kindred  tribes  were  first  visited 
by  Europeans,  although  their  standard  of  morals,  using 
the  word  in  a  narrow  and  conventional  sense,  was,  per- 
haps, not  such  as  would  be  considered  high,  the  coarser 
phases  of  rank  sensualism,  common  among  many  primi- 
tive peoples,  and  the  deplorable  issues  wrought  among 
civilized  peoples,  despite  the  teachings  of  Christianity  and 
philosophy,  were  unknown  to  them.  Rigid  was  the  rule 
and  rigidly  was  it  obeyed  ;  their  virile  animal  propensities, 
full-blooded  desires,  kept  in  restraint  by  a  code  Draconian 
in  its  severity,  for  the  penalty  was  death.  The  results 
were  such  as  to  compel  the  admiration  of  those  of  a 
higher  race,  whose  ethical  standards  were  theoreticall}' 
purer,  but  which  were,  in  practice,  broken  or  ignored  by 
a  vastly  larger  proportion  of  those  nominally  accepting 


TRIBALISM  17 

them.  It  built  up  a  people  who,  within  the  limits  of  the 
law  they  themselves  made,  were  restrained  to  an  extent 
that  would  not  have  been  possible  under  a  more  in- 
dividualistic social  system. 

A  sense  of  responsibility  was  also  fostered  by  it.  An 
individual  transgressing  must  be  reported  to  the  higher 
authorities  by  his  immediate  clan  associates,  the  kraal 
head  was  responsible  to  the  district  induna,  the  latter  to 
the  chief.  To  an  extent  which  is  difficult  of  comprehension 
by  Europeans  was  this  responsibility  accepted.  The 
cattle-stealing  Acts  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  Natal  make 
it  imperative  on  the  residents  of  a  kraal,  when  the  spoor 
of  stolen  cattle  is  traced  to  their  immediate  vicinity,  to 
take  up  the  spoor  and  prove  that  the  cattle  have  left  their 
neighbourhood,  or  if  unable  or  unwilling  to  do  this  to 
take  the  responsibility  of  the  theft  and  be  punished  ac- 
cordingly. To  a  European  who  believes  that  a  man 
should  be  considered  innocent  until  absolutely  proved 
guilty,  the  onus  of  proof  resting  on  the  prosecutor;  and 
who  also  holds  that  each  individual  must  be  solely  re- 
sponsible for  his  own  misdeeds,  this  idea  of  collective 
responsibility  and  punishment  of  a  community  unless 
they  could  prove  their  innocence  is  abhorrent.  But  it  is 
not  so  to  the  native.  So  steeped  is  he  in  this  sense  of 
clan  responsibility  that  the  tribal  native  saw  no  manner 
of  injustice  in  this  enactment — it  appealed  to  him  as  being 
rational,  and  many  laws,  to  us  based  on  absolute  justice, 
have  been  utterly  distasteful,  whilst  this  one,  quite  foreign 
to  our  ideas  of  right,  has  been  accepted  by  the  black  man 
as  right. 

If  we  view  the  character  of  a  people  as  being  the 
justification  for  any  law,  code  of  law,  or  social  system  we 
must,  I  think,  rate  the  tribal  system  in  vogue  among  the 
Abantu  very  highly. 

But  there  are  undoubted  disadvantages  which  go  to 
balance  these.  The  tendency  to  lean  upon  the  chief  as 
representative  of  the  tribe,  to  subordinate  individual 
action  to  the  social  requirements,  lowered  the  power  of 


78  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

initiation,  tended  to  conservatism,  and  in  its  practical 
application  prevented  progress  in  the  material  arts  and  in 
the  mode  of  living. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  innate  conservatism  of 
the  Abantu  as  seen  among  the  different  tribes  in  all  parts 
of  South  East  Africa.  On  the  farms,  alongside  the 
irrigation  w^orks,  the  steam  plant,  the  high  cultivation 
and  improved  stock  of  the  European  is  the  bee-hive  hut, 
the  wretched  cultivation,  the  Zulu  cattle  and  common 
goats  of  the  native.  Within  an  easy  day's  w^alk  of  centres 
of  civilization,  with  every  discovery  of  science  applied  to 
the  daily  life  of  its  inhabitants,  the  native  lives  as  his  fore- 
fathers did  before  the  time  of  Tyaka.  And  this  with  a 
mental  capacity  which  is  far  above  what  would  be 
necessary  to  acquire  and  benefit  by  many  of  the  facilities 
and  amenities  daily  before  his  eyes.  We  hinted  at  this 
phase  of  his  character  before.  What  is  the  reason  ? 
Part  at  least,  and  I  think  a  great  part,  is  due  to  the  phase 
of  his  environment  now  under  consideration  ;  due  to  his 
social  system,  his  intense  conscious  and  sub-conscious  re- 
cognition of  the  tribe — his  individuality  has  never  been 
awakened,  and  meantime  he  cares  for  none  of  these  things. 
It  would  not  be  possible  to  get  from  a  native  a  reasoned 
answer  to  our  question.  He  would  evade  it,  or  possibly, 
not  quite  understanding,  surmise  a  motive  and  give  the 
stereotyped  reply.     It  is  not  our  custom. 

I  think  there  is  little  doubt  that  for.Jhe  majority, 
could  the  choice  be  given,  they  would  sleet  to  live  for 
ever  in  the  old  ancestral  wa^'^,  not  wanting  or  bothering 
about  any  one  of  the  material  benefits  or  ameliorations 
of  life  so  freely  used  by  the  white  man.  Gladly  indeed 
would  they  choose  to  be  left  to  themselves  to  live  as  did 
their  fathers. 

The  clan  system,  from  our  point  of  view,  gives  far  too 
much  arbitrary  power  into  the  hands  of  chiefs.  In  the 
old  days  this  was,  until  despotism  became  intolerable, 
practically  unlimited  ;  power  of  life  and  death  and  the 
utter  destruction  of  a  man  and  his  family  might  be  in  the 


TRIBALISM  79 

hands  of  the  chief.  To-day  although  his  legal  power  is 
cut  down  to  a  minimum,  he  can,  if  he  so  wills,  make  life 
difficult  for  those  he  dislikes.  European  residents  in  re- 
mote districts  can  instance  cases  of  injustice  and  oppres- 
sion on  the  part  of  chiefs  which  seem  to  them  intolerable, 
and  cause  them  to  feel  that  the  whole  system  should  be 
swept  away.  To  this  aspect  of  the  case  we  will  recur 
later  on ;  meantime  we  mention  the  fact  as  one  which,  at 
all  events  from  our  point  of  view,  should  be  placed  to  the 
debit  of  the  system.  But  it  must  always  be  remembered 
that  what,  to  us,  would  be  gross  injustice  may  not  be 
regarded  as  such  by  the  native,  and  that  before  we  give 
judgment  we  must  do  all  we  can  to  endeavour  to  look  at 
it  from  his  standpoint. 

I  can  quite  imagine  many  of  those  who  know  the 
natives  intimately  saying  that  in  the  general  view  I  have 
given  of  the  clan  system  I  have  exaggerated  its  impor- 
tance ;  that  although  perhaps  true  of  the  position 
before  the  arrival  of  the  white  man,  or  for  some  time  after 
his  advent,  the  native  has  changed,  and  among  the  changes 
not  the  least  is  that  he  no  longer  reverences  his  chief  or 
holds  to  his  tribe  as  he  once  did ;  that  the  effect  of  the 
clan  system,  either  for  good  or  ill,  is  not  so  great  as  has 
been  stated,  and  the  whole  position  being  now  governed 
by  the  white  man,  it  is  not  consistent  with  his  ideals 
that  the  system  and  its  abuses  should  be  allowed  to 
continue.         |^, 

The  actual  position  varies  in  different  parts  of  South 
East  Africa,  and  everywhere  the  system  has  been  gravely 
modified  by  the  white  man  and  his  government.  In  every 
portion  of  the  country  with  which  we  are  dealing,  even 
in  those  in  which  the  system  is  recognized  fully  by 
Government,  influences  are  at  work  which  are  tending  in 
rapidly  progressive  measure  to  shake  the  foundations  of 
the  clan  system.  Looked  at  from  outside  it  seems  based 
upon  the  authority  of  the  chief;  get  beneath  the  surface 
and  it  is  seen  that  its  ultimate  justification  is  in  the 
character  of  the  people,  in  the  race  genius  of  the  Abantu. 


So  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

We  have  frequently  insisted  on  the  conservatism  of  these 
people  and  the  comparatively  slight  changes  in  their  out- 
ward life  wrought  by  the  presence  of  the  white  man.  But 
this  must  not  blind  us  to  the  tremendous  influence  which 
is  being  brought  to  bear  upon  them  daily  and  hourly  by 
his  presence.  It  is  indeed  marvellous  that  the  outward 
and  visible  sign  of  change  should  have  been  so  apparently 
small. 

The  immigration  of  white  people  of  British  descent 
into  Natal  began,  about  1850,  to'be  of  considerable  dimen- 
sions, and  since  that  date  the  Abantu  people  have  been 
in  the  very  closest  contact  with  the  civilized  white  man. 
The  black  man  has  cooked  the  food  of  the  European  on 
a  range  of  the  most  modern  construction,  and  waited  at 
the  table  at  which  that  food  appeared,  food  the  most  varied 
and  luxurious  ;  yet  the  native,  when  the  white  man  is  satis- 
fied, retires  to  his  mealie  meal  porridge  cooked  in  a  three- 
legged  iron  pot  which  stands  on  the  earthen  floor  of  the 
outhouse  provided  for  him,  and  there,  squatting  on  his 
haunches,  he  dips  into  this  common  receptacle  along  with 
his  fellow  servants,  the  stable  boy  and  the  garden  boy. 
On  the  farm  at  which  he  is  employed  and  on  which  he  lives, 
he  milks  the  cows,  works  the  cream  separator,  making  most 
excellent  butter,  which  he  carries  to  the  village  store.  He 
knows  the  whole  operation,  industrial  and  commercial, 
from  the  time  the  cow  is  milked  to  the  appearance  of  the 
butter  on  the  counter.  Yet  he  goes  to  his  kraal  and  makes 
amasi  from  the  milk  as  his  fathers  did,  and,  so  far  as  I 
know,  though  the  natives  of  Natal  owned,  before  East 
Coast  fever,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cattle,  not  a  single 
pound  of  butter  has  ever  been  sent  to  market  by  any  one 
of  them. 

The  native  loves  the  inside  of  a  store,  delights  to  lounge 
there  and  spend  his  money,  and  in  his  purchases  is  most 
discriminating  and  exacting,  and  those  who  cater  for  his 
wants  have  to  make  a  very  special  study  of  his  require- 
ments. Fashions  in  beads  and  blankets  are  constantly 
changing,  and  the  movements  of  fashion  have  to  be  most 


TRIBALISM  8 1 

closely  watched  by  the  wholesale  importer  and  the  retail 
dealer.  The  trade  is  an  enormous  one  and  very  lucrative  ; 
large  fortunes  have  been  made  in  it  in  past  years.  In 
Natal  and  the  Transvaal  the  retailing  of  Kaffir  truck  is 
largely  in  the  hands  of  Asiatics,  who  have  learned  the 
intricacies  of  the  trade  and  ousted  the  white  man.  But 
the  native  himself,  who  knows  his  own  requirements  best, 
who  surely  should  be  best  qualified  to  do  the  trade  of 
his  fellows,  who  in  some  cases  knows  something  of  the 
money  being  made  by  the  European  and  Asiatic  out  of 
him,  who  now  and  then  is  employed  as  a  salesman,  stands 
on  one  side  and  makes  no  attempt  to  capture  the  trade  of 
his  own  people.  One  or  two  natives  have  from  time  to 
time  opened  stores  and  taken  to  trading  on  a  small  scale, 
but  it  is  so  unusual  a  thing  as  to  call  for  general  remark. 

One  could  understand  the  slight  effect  made  upon 
him  if  he  had  lived  his  whole  life  apart,  as  the  North 
American  Indians  did,  or  even  as  the  Maories  of  New 
Zealand.  But  he  has  come  into  the  closest  contact  with 
the  white  man  and  his  ways,  acted  as  nursemaid,  cook, 
laundryman,  driver,  groom,  gardener,  chambermaid, 
ploughman,  herd,  dairyman,  salesman  in  native  stores, 
labourer  to  all  artisans  and  mechanical  trades,  miner, 
dock  labourer,  and  that  for  over  sixty  years,  and  yet  the 
outward  changes  in  his  own   life  are  hardly  noticeable. 

But  those  who  know  him  best  are  not  deceived  by  this 
apparent  steadfastness  in  his  old  ways.  They  know  that, 
conservative  as  he  is,  he  is  changing,  that  underneath  his 
surface  immobility,  he  is  being  gradually  altered,  and  that 
this  is  accumulating  and  will  probably,  before  long,  become 
apparent  in  various  ways.  The  effect  of  the  individualism 
of  the  European  has  been  gradually  working  upon  the 
socialistic  native,  and  his  adherence  to  the  clan  system, 
and  his  fidelity  to  his  chief  as  the  outward  manifestation 
of  his  inward  and  inherited  nature,  is  being  slowly  under- 
mined. In  all  directions,  whether  the  white  man  is  ex- 
ploiting him  for  his  own  benefit,  or  with  altruistic  motives 
is  labouring  for  the  uplifting  of  the  native,  the  tendency 

6 


82  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

is  the  same,  to  awaken  and  strengthen  his  individuality, 
to  weaken  his  sense  of  responsibility  to  and  dependence 
upon  the  family  and  tribe. 

At  every  meeting  the  Natal  Native  Commission  held 
with  chiefs,  headmen,  and  kraal  heads  the  cry  was  the  same, 
our  young  people  are  getting  out  of  hand,  instead  of  recog- 
nizing and  obeying  their  fathers  and  guardians  they  dis- 
obey and  sometimes  disown.  Sons,  who  should  be  working 
for  the  house,  appropriate  all  their  earnings  to  themselves, 
daughters  flaunt  their  elders  to  their  face,  and,  duty  dis- 
owned, claim  a  right  to  go  to  towns  or  mission  stations. 

The  question  of  raising  revenue  by  means  of  a  poll 
tax,  payable  by  all  adult  males  of  all  races  in  the  colony 
of  Natal,  was,  a  few  years  ago,  before  the  Legislature  of 
the  colony.  The  discussion  revealed,  in  a  remarkable 
way,  the  difference  of  outlook  between  Europeans,  how- 
ever familiar  with  native  modes  of  thought,  and  the 
natives  themselves.  One  chief  reason  advanced  in  the 
Legislature  for  the  imposition  of  this  tax  on  native  j^oung 
men  was  that  they  did  not  personally  pay  hut  tax,  and 
should  therefore  be  made  to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of 
the  state.  It  is  true  that  a  voice  was  raised  in  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  pointing  out  that  this  call  upon  the 
young  men,  as  individuals,  would  tend  to  destroy  the 
chain  of  responsibility  which  was  at  the  root  of  the  tribal 
system,  and  free  them  from  the  control  of  the  elders ;  but 
this  argument,  going  to  the  root  of  the  matter  as  it  did, 
carried  no  weight  nor  did  it  appeal  to  the  majority  of 
members.  Though  the  kraal  heads,  as  paying  hut  tax, 
were  free  from  the  operation  of  the  poll  tax,  the  burden 
of  their  complaint  was  against  the  latter  tax,  not  one 
grumbled  at  having  to  pay  hut  tax.  The  ground  of 
complaint  was  a  social  one,  and  it  was  voiced  at  every 
meeting  from  Northern  Zululand  to  Southern  Natal  and 
voiced  in  the  same  terms.  They  said  the  imposition  of 
this  tax  drives  a  wedge  into  the  line  of  responsibility; 
the  young  men,  being  made  individually  responsible  for 
this   tax,   become   independent,  and   refuse  to   help   thei^ 


TRIBALISM  83 

fathers  to  pay  hut  tax  or  to  Hsten  to  them.  The  tendency 
to  insubordination,  which  was  growing  before,  has  been 
accelerated  by  this  impost,  and  now  we  fear  our  young 
people  will  get  altogether  out  of  hand.  The  aspect  of  the 
case  that  was  of  little  moment  to  the  individualistic 
European  was  the  one  that  immediately  appealed  to  the 
socialistic  native. 

The  same  subtle  influence  is  working  in  all  our 
mutual  relations.  Not  a  boy  leaves  his  home  and  comes 
into  town  to  work,  but  he  imbibes  the  idea  that  he  is 
working  for  himself,  and  he  himself  should  benefit  by  his 
labour.  Not  a  girl  goes  to  the  mission  station,  but  she 
assimilates  the  idea  that  she  is  to  improve  herself,  and 
awakens  to  the  fact  that  she  is  placed  in  competition 
with  others  and  must  exercise  her  own  faculties  for  her 
own  individual  improvement.  Her  religious  instruction 
tends  to  make  her  anxious  to  save  her  own  individual 
soul.  The  spirit  of  common  responsibility  and  mutual 
help,  engendered  by  the  clan  system,  is  gradually  being 
undermined.  Travelling  to  centres  of  employment  and 
the  conditions  there  found,  familiarity  with  new  ideas, 
with  European  modes  of  life  and  industry,  Christianity' 
itself,  are  all  working  to  the  same  end. 

I  may  be  quoted  against  myself,  and  the  innate  con- 
servatism of  the  natives  and  the  slight  effect  on  their 
home  life  so  far  made  by  these  changed  conditions  be 
stated  to  argue  the  likelihood  that  they  will,  in  the  future, 
remain  still  unaffected.  Not  so — the  leaven  is  now  in  the 
lump,  the  mass  has  not  yet  risen  ;  there  is,  so  far,  but  little 
to  be  seen  on  the  surface,  but  a  time  is  coming  when  the 
inner  spiritual  changes  are  going  to  make  profound 
changes  in  the  outlook  on  life  and  its  outward  and  visible 
manifestation  in  these  people.  What  form  this  ma}-  take 
we  cannot  at  present  tell,  but  it  is  certainly  our  duty  as 
the  governing  race  to  recognize  what  is  taking  place  and 
to  make  due  provision,  so  far  as  our  insight  and  abilit}- 
carry  us,  to  guide  them  in  a  right  channel,  for,  unrecognized 
and  unregulated,  they  may  prove  a  devastating  torrent. 

6  * 


84  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Perhaps  the  best  method  of  getting  to  understand  the 
change  that  is  taking  place  in  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
whole  people  is  to  make  some  study  of  those  who  have 
gone  furthest  along  the  path  now  being  entered  upon 
by  the  great  mass  of  the  natives. 

I  have,  hitherto,  spoken  as  if  the  whole  of  the  Abantu 
peoples  of  South  East  Africa  were  in  a  somewhat  similar 
state  of  civilization,  or  evolution,  from  a  primitive  stage  of 
society;  and  to  prevent  complication  this  was  necessary, 
as  it  does  apply  to  the  vast  mass.  But  many,  while  still 
members  of  a  tribe,  have  openly,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  cut  themselves  off  from  the  ordinary  tribal  life, 
and  some  again  in  Natal  have,  under  statute,  exempted 
themselves  from  native  law  and  come  under  the  usual 
law  of  the  colony. 

Some  consideration  of  these  people  ought  certainly  to 
throw  a  light  upon  what  is  likely  to  happen,  when  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  follow  along  the  individualistic 
path  already  trodden  by  this  minority.  It  is  by  a  con- 
sideration of  missions  and  the  mission  work,  and  the 
nature  of  the  outcome  of  that  work,  that  we  can  learn  most 
in  this  connexion.  I  will,  in  the  next  chapter,  give  fuller 
consideration  of  missions  from  different  aspects,  and  I  only 
propose  here  to  inquire  how  far  the  methods  of  the  Euro- 
pean have  modified  the  socialistic  feelings  of  the  native,  and 
what  he  has  become  in  consequence ;  so  for  the  moment 
we  only  want  to  consider  the  native  who  has  broken 
from  the  tribal  system  from  this  point  of  view.  The 
majority  of  these  either  are  or  have  been  connected  with 
missions,  although  the  proportion  of  those  who  have 
been  led  to  the  new  attitude,  through  other  than  mission 
influences,  is  getting  greater  every  year.  At  one  time 
either  a  native  was  tribal — raw,  green,  red,  blanket,  the 
various  names  given  to  the  primitive  man, — or  he  was  a 
mission  Christian,  a  kolwa  or  believer.  Broadly  speaking, 
in  past  times  every  native  wearing  clothes  was  regarded 
as  a  Christian,  every  unclothed  native  a  heathen.  This 
clear  distinction  does  not  now  hold  good.     Other  influ- 


TRIBALISM  85 

ences  than  those  of  the  missionary  have  induced  natives 
to  dress  in  European  fashion,  to  build  square  houses,  and 
to  eat  European  food.  But  in  all  these,  whether  of  the 
majority  who  have  acquired  the  change  through  mission 
influence,  or  the  minority,  now  rapidly  increasing,  who 
have  done  so  impelled  by  other  influences  or  agencies, 
from  our  present  point  of  view  the  result  is,  that  the 
tribal  spirit  in  them  is  weakened,  they  no  longer  respond 
to  the  social  call  as  they  once  did,  and  they  are  becoming 
permeated  with  the  individualistic  life  and  aspiration  they 
see  all  around  them. 

Outw^ardly,  the  change  is  often  not  altogether  a  pleas- 
ant one.  It  is  a  usual  thing,  among  colonists,  to  compare 
the  dignified,  quiet,  courteous,  and  respectful  attitude  of 
the  father  who  has  never  left  his  kraal,  except  for  short 
intervals,  with  the  travelled  son  who  has  a  manner  some- 
times sullen,  again  jaunty,  but  always  self-conscious  and 
self-assertive,  who  has  been  taught  to  read  and  write  at  a 
mission  station  and  received  the  impress  of  Durban  or 
Johannesburg.  The  comparison  made  is  all  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  the  latter,  and  the  conclusion  is  drawn  that  the 
native  is  deteriorating  and  being  rapidly  spoiled.  What 
has  been  said  of  the  influence  of  the  more  subtle  weaken- 
ing of  restraint  in  the  mass  is  shown,  in  augmented 
degree,  in  this  class.  Too  often  the  deterioration  in  man- 
ners which  is  certainly  common,  goes  the  length  of  being 
unabashed  impudence,  and  is  accompanied  by  selfishness 
and  lack  of  consideration  for  others,  qualities  foreign  to 
native  character.  There  are  numerous  exceptions,  but 
it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  such  a  change  in  environ- 
ment on  natures  for  the  most  part  unprepared  for  the 
change,  should  result  in  unmixed  good.  And  such  is 
actually  the  case,  and  it  forms  one  aspect  of  our  problem. 

How  far  are  we,  the  governing  race,  to  conserve  the 
restraints  and  influences  of  tribalism  ?  How  far  should 
emancipation,  with  too  often  its  outward  deterioration,  be 
tolerated  or  encouraged  ?  Is  it  likely  that,  as  further  de- 
velopment proceeds,  the  outward  changes  now  obvious 


86  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

will  be  correlated  with  other  changes  which  we  might 
approve?  Will  the  final  balance  be  for  good  or  ill  ?  These 
questions,  with  many  others,  must  be  the  subject  of  our 
gravest,  deepest  consideration,  for  on  our  answers  will 
depend  our  attitude  and  our  action  towards  some  of  the 
deepest  instincts  of  the  Abantu,  and  much  in  the  future  oi 
both  races  depends  upon  it. 

When  one  reflects  upon  it,  the  attitude  of  the  black 
man  to  the  white  is  one  that  deserves  some  consideration. 
When  they  first  met  in  South  East  Africa  the  black  man 
was  in  the  plenitude  of  his  power.  Tyaka  and  his  impis 
dominated  the  land,  irresistible,  never  conquered  and  full 
of  pride  in  their  prowess.  The  white  man  came,  few  in 
numbers,  without  pomp  or  circumstance,  as  we  know 
from  contemporary  records  often  hungry  and  nearly 
naked,  the  black  man  could  have  eaten  them  all  up  with 
ease,  and  yet  from  the  first  and  until  now,  the  black  man 
has  universally  acknowledged  him  superior.  It  is  singular 
and  compels  thought  to  see  a  white  man,  deficient  in 
physical  and  will  power,  of  known  bad  character,  possibly 
drunk,  dirty  and  ragged,  demanding  and  obtaining  defer- 
ence from  another  physically,  mentally,  and  morally  far  his 
superior.  Seldom  indeed  is  the  race  recognition  denied, 
whatever  may  be  the  failings  and  shortcomings  of  the 
individual.  A  deference  similar  in  quality  to  that  so  freely 
given  to  their  chiefs  was  regarded  as  due  to  any  repre- 
sentative of  the  white  race,  and  the  black,  accustomed  ever 
to  obey,  so  acknowledged  the  white. 

The  emancipating  process  we  have  seen  in  progress 
gradually  disintegrating  the  tribal  fidelity  to  and  reverence 
for  their  chiefs,  is  affecting  and  attenuating  the  respect  for 
and  dependence  upon  the  white  man,  hitherto  so  noticeable 
a  characteristic  of  the  Abantu.  The  individual  'muntu 
now  often  treats  the  individual  European  on  his  merits 
and  not  as  the  representative  of  a  superior  race.  Probably 
a  stranger  coming  amongst  these  people,  would  to-day  be 
charmed  with  their  respectful  manner  and  see  little  to 
which  exception  could  be  taken.    And  he  would  be  right; 


TRIBALISM  87 

but  we,  who  knew  them  in  the  old  times,  know  there  is 
a  change,  a  change  in  manner  and  a  change  in  attitude. 
Partly  through  our  own  fault,  more  by  reason  of  circum- 
stances, we  are  not  now  to  the  native  the  supremely 
able  just  ones  whose  word  should  be  law. 

Among  the  educated  ones,  there  is  a  desire  to  do  for 
themselves  what  they  have  hitherto  allowed  the  white 
man  to  do  for  them  and  to  free  themselves  from  his  con- 
trol. It  is  symbolic  of  the  character  of  the  race  that  this 
attempt  at  self-realization  should  first  operate  in  the  sphere 
of  religion,  and  should  have  a  strong  savour  of  politics 
about  it.  Not  so  to  advance  as  to  make  himself  independ- 
ent in  economic  affairs,  to  emulate  the  white  man  in  doing 
and  making,  but  to  desire  to  free  himself  from  supervision 
and  to  talk  for  himself,  is  indeed  characteristic  of  the 
native  once  he  has  freed  himself  from  tribal  restraints. 

The  development  this  new  freedom  has  taken,  has  been 
to  form  churches  or  organizations  free  from  the  control 
of  any  recognized  European  Church  or  missionary  body. 
They  desired  to  manage  their  own  affairs  under  their  own 
people.  In  some  cases,  the  primary  or  ostensible  reason 
for  withdrawal  was  personal,  a  difference  of  opinion  or 
incompatibility  between  the  European  missionaries  and 
prominent  native  members  of  the  Church.  Such  seces- 
sions have  principally  been  from  the  Wesleyan  body,  but 
have  happened  in  several  other  denominations ;  the 
Congregationalists,  Presbyterians,  and  Church  of  England 
all  losing  adherents  who  established  churches  of  their 
own.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  underlying  cause  was, 
in  any  case,  a  difference  of  religious  opinion  or  doctrine, 
although  new  tenets,  often  not  formulated  and  partaking 
of  political  opinions,  are  supposed  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  new  organizations.  The  movement  was 
strengthened  by  the  appearance  in  South  Africa  of 
emissaries  from  the  United  States,  principally  connected 
with  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  that 
country,  some  of  whom  held  the  rank  of  bishop.  They 
gained  adherents  and  published  a  paper  "The  Voice  of 


88  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Missions,"  which  certainly,  at  times,  preached  opinions 
and  doctrine  calculated  to  evoke  and  spread  disloyalty  to 
constituted  authority.  In  evidence  given  before  the  South 
African  Native  Commission,  however,  the  witnesses  repre- 
senting this  church  disclaimed  any  desire  to  propagate 
political  opinions,  and  in  1904  a  formal  declaration  was 
issued  signed  by  thirteen  bishops  containing  the  following 
statements  concerning  the  objects  of  their  church  : — 

"  In  all  of  our  movements  in  South  Africa  we  shall 
seek  to  help  and  not  to  hinder,  to  assist  in  advancing 
enlightened  and  healthful  influences  and  not  to  impede 
them,  to  foster  and  encourage  loyalty  and  obedience  to 
lawfully  constituted  authority  and  not  to  breed  disaffection 
and  anarchy.  In  relation  to  all  religious  denominations  our 
position  is  that  of  fraternity  and  co-operation  in  any  and 
every  way  that  will  help  to  bring  the  heathen  to  a  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God, 

"  It  is  no  part  of  our  business  to  concern  ourselves 
with  politics.  We  shall  strictly  confine  our  endeavours 
to  civilization,  education,  and  Christianization.  Our 
theory  in  regard  to  the  education  of  the  natives  is  the 
rudiments  of  an  education  for  all,  industrial  training  for 
many,  a  college  education  for  the  talented  few," 

A  declaration  of  policy  which  is  admirable,  and  to 
which  no  reasonable  person  can  take  exception.  The 
first  important  secession  from  a  church  controlled  by 
Europeans,  was  thaf'of  the  Rev.  J.  M,  Dwane  and  his 
followers  from  the  Wesleyan  communion  in  1894.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  this  body  first  joined  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  just  mentioned,  but  relations 
became  strained,  and  in  1899  application  was  made  to 
the  Church  of  South  Africa  (the  Church  of  England  in 
South  Africa),  and  after  full  inquiry  and  long  negotiations 
they  were  admitted  into  that  body  as  the  Order  of  Ethiopia, 
and  they  are  an  integral  part  of  the  Church  of  England 
in  South  Africa  to-day.  Apart  from,  and  in  addition  to 
those  mentioned,  there  are  independent  bodies  forming 
separate   organizations   under   purely  native   control    in 


TRIBALISM  89 

different  parts  of  South  East  Africa  who  are  lumped  to- 
gether generally  by  Europeans  as  "  Ethiopians ".  The 
current  theory  among  Europeans  regarding  them  is  that 
the  principal  cord  binding  them  together  is  the  doctrine 
of  "Africa  for  the  Africans"  or  "Africa  for  the  black 
man,"  but  what  is  exactly  meant  or  implied  by  this 
phrase  or  belief  seems  difficult  to  ascertain.  Whether  it 
means  or  aims  at  the  expulsion  of  the  white  man,  or  what 
political  organization  is  to  replace  the  rejected  one,  no 
one  seems  to  know.  There  is  much  conjecture  and 
rumour,  but  little  accurate  knowledge.  I  think  that  prob- 
ably the  preachers  of  and  believers  in  the  doctrine  have 
never  themselves  formulated  anything  very  definite,  and 
that  the  movement  has  not,  at  present,  got  further  than 
a  religious  propaganda  with  independent  organization 
and  certain  vague  political  quasi-beliefs,  which  are  natur- 
ally somewhat  on  the  same  lines  as  the  feelings  which 
prompted  the  original  secession  in  matters  religious ;  a 
considerable  amount  of  emotion  and  not  much  clear 
thinking. 

Governments  have  been  alarmed,  and  administrative 
action  has  been  taken  to  discountenance  any  independent 
religious  organizations  among  natives.  Apart  from  the 
particular  doctrines  inculcated,  there  has  been  a  feeling 
that  no  activities,  of  the  nature  of  preaching  or  teaching, 
should  be  undertaken  by  natives  alone,  that  all  such  in- 
struction should  be  under  the  direct  control  of  the  white 
man.  The  Natal  Government  went  so  far  as  to  prevent 
the  erection  of  any  out  station  for  preaching  in  the  loca- 
tions, unless  a  permanent  resident  European  missionary 
actually  lived  on  the  station,  and  in  some  cases,  unfortun- 
ately, went  so  far  as  to  destroy  buildings  which  had  been 
erected  without  permission  or  without  full  compliance  with 
the  Government  conditions.  The  Natal  Native  Commis- 
sion, who  went  fully  into  this  question,  were  of  opinion  that 
the  Government  had  been  unduly  alarmed,  that  they  were 
not  justified  in  their  drastic  action  ;  and  the  extreme  restric- 
tions with  regard  to  out  stations  have  now  been  removed. 


90  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

The  developments  indicated  were,  I  think,  only  to  be 
expected  from  the  premises.  The  whole  current  of  events 
since  the  white  man  came  into  the  land  has  been  to  make 
the  native  more  individualistic  and  to  free  him  from  his 
old  sanctions  and  restraints  ;  the  atmosphere  was  charged 
with  the  change.  In  addition,  the  educated  ones  were 
taught  directly  and  by  implication,  that  they  were  to  think 
and  act  for  themselves,  be  independent  and  self-reliant, — 
the  antithesis  of  the  old  order  of  things.  Those  who  dis- 
played initiative  and  resource  were  praised,  the  dull,  and 
those  who  spoke  and  acted  under  authority,  were  not 
much  regarded.  The  conscious  policy  too  of  some  of  the 
mission  bodies,  if  not  all,  was  to  gradually  encourage  their 
converts  to  so  direct  their  thoughts  and  energy,  that  in 
time  they  might  organize  and  evangelize  their  own  people 
and  be  the  direct  and  immediate  means  of  preaching  the 
gospel  they  had  received  to  their  heathen  brethren. 

Yet,  with  all  these  tendencies  in  operation,  many  of 
us  expect  the  native  to  remain  under  white  control  of  the 
strictest  in  all  his  activities,  and  never  attempt  to  think  and 
act  for  himself,  or  to  lead  an  independent  existence  in  any 
field  of  effort.  We  destroy  directly  or  indirectly  the  social 
system  he  himself  has  built  and  in  which  he  lived  con- 
formably to  his  nature,  we  make  little  or  no  attempt  to  put 
anything  in  its  place,  urge  him  by  conscious  act  and  speech 
and  by  unconscious  action  to  leave  the  old  and  become 
individualistic,  and  then,  when  he  obeys  and  begins  to 
organize  by  himself  and  for  himself,  we  wonder  and 
protest. 

That  this  independent  attitude  in  religious  affairs  may 
tend  to  similar  views  in  matters  political  is  possible,  and 
may  result  in  seditious  talk  and  act.  So  far  as  this  is  the 
case,  punishment  must  be  prompt  and  severe,  but  to  what 
extent  the  desire  to  stand  alone  should  be  discountenanced 
is  another  matter.  Much  depends  on  the  view  which  may 
be  taken  of  our  true  policy  for  the  future  in  regard  to 
native  affairs.  The  advocate  of  the  continuation  of  the 
present  course  by  which  the  black  man  is  almost  inextric- 


TRIBALISM  91 

ably  mixed  up  with  the  life  of  the  white  man,  and  who,  more 
and  more,  is  getting  involved  therein,  would  probably  de- 
precate it.  To  those  who  primarily  look  upon  the  native 
as  the  source  of  cheap  labour,  whose  idea  of  a  successful 
native  policy  is  summed  up  in,  control  by  the  whites, 
quietude  and  acceptance  by  the  blacks,  any  such  aspirations 
and  developments  are  intolerable.  To  those  who  think 
each  race  has  a  value  of  its  own,  has  its  own  race  life  to 
live,  and  that  it  is  possible  for  them  to  develop  on  parallel 
lines,  and  who  believe  that  to  intermingle  them  is  probably 
to  lose  the  best  in  each  and  cause  inextricable  confusion, 
this  desire  on  the  part  of  the  natives  to  conduct  some  part 
of  their  lives  in  their  own  way  is  not  without  hope  for 
both  races.  Of  this  I  purpose  to  deal  later.  Let  us  re- 
member as  a  fact,  pregnant  of  meaning,  that,  so  far,  the 
furthest  development  of  the  fundamental  change  brought 
into  their  lives  by  our  presence,  has  been,  through  the 
awakening  to  individualism,  a  desire  towards  another 
and  different  social  order  in  which  they  shall  manage  their 
own  affairs  and  stand  by  themselves. 

This  desire  to  detach  themselves  from  Europeans  and 
European  influencei  in  matters  of  religion,  and  form 
churches  of  their  own,  is  not  singular  to  the  Abantu  of 
South  East  Africa.  It  is  a  strong  feature  among  the 
negroes  of  the  Southern  United  States,  Jamaica,  Haiti 
and  elsewhere,  and  I  cannot  learn  that  it  is  commonly 
associated  in  these  countries  with  political  aspirations 
or  agitation.  The  negro  sometimes  seems  to  feel  that 
the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  white  man's  religion  is  in 
some  ways  not  adapted  to  and  is  insufficient  for  his  needs. 
This  is  not  surprising  when  we  consider  the  immense 
differences  in  constitution  and  temperament  between  the 
two  races.  The  coloured  man  evolves  variants  which 
sometimes  take  the  form  of  a  reversion  to  old,  far-awa}-, 
half-remembered  or  sub-conscious  African  superstitions, 
or  are  sometimes  new  and  not  unseldom  grotesque. 
But  this  development  seems  certainly  to  be  characteristic 
of  the  negro,  and  now  we  find  something  similar  to  it  in 
the  Abantu. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MISSIONS   AND    EDUCATION— THE   ALTRUISM   OF   THE    WHITE 

MAN. 

Yesterday,  September  28th,  1910,  was  a  notable  day  in 
the  annals  of  the  American  Zulu  Mission  in  Natal.  From 
the  half  share  of  the  rents  of  the  Inanda  Mission  reserve, 
paid  by  the  natives  resident  thereon  to  the  Government, 
and  in  turn  paid  over  to  the  Missionary  Society  to  be  ex- 
pended on  works  of  betterment  for  the  natives,  a  large 
new  brick  school  had  been  built.  This  was  the  day 
appointed  for  the  formal  opening  of  the  building,  and  the 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  for  the  Province  of  Natal 
was  asked  to  undertake  this  office.  He  was  accompanied 
by  district  Native  Commissioners  and  members  of  the 
Natal  Native  Council,  prominent  European  residents  in 
the  district,  and  ladies  interested  in  the  work. 

Early  in  the  day  the  visiting  party  were  met  at  the 
Mission  Station  by  those  resident  there  engaged  in  the 
work,  notable  among  whom  were  Mrs.  Edwards,  now  82 
years  of  age,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pixley  who  is  81,  whose 
lives  have  been  devoted  to  the  religious  instruction  and 
moral  betterment  of  the  Qadi  tribe,  among  whom  they 
had  lived  for  the  greater  part  of  those  many  years. 

After  inspection  of  the  general  mission  activities,  a 
meeting  was  held  in  the  large  church ;  it  was  crowded 
with  the  pupils  of  both  branches  of  the  work,  one  of  which 
was  the  instruction  of  girls  in  their  'teens,  who  were 
taught  the  ordinary  school  subjects  up  to  the  sixth  stan- 
dard, also  house  and  laundry  work,  and  younger  girls  and 
boys  who  attended  the  primary  school.  Filling  up  every 
available  corner  of  the    building,  standing  in    the  open 

92 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  93 

doorways,  and  overflowing  into  the  open,  grassy,  tree- 
shaded  space  around  the  church,  were  hundreds  of  the 
tribe.  The  older  girl  pupils  were  uniformly  dressed  in 
white,  clean  in  person  and  dress,  bright  and  intelligent- 
looking,  quiet  with  suppressed  excitement.  No  observant 
onlooker  could  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  high  standard 
of  physical  well-being  conspicuous  among  them ;  every 
individual  was  strong,  healthy  looking,  brimming  with 
vitality.  Tame  it  appeared  that  no  similar  gathering  of 
girls  of  any  white  race  would  have  shown  such  a  high 
average  of  physical  force  ;  it  spoke  eloquently  for  the  viril- 
ity of  one  side  of  the  Abantu  race  in  Natal. 

Many  hymns  and  songs  were  sung,  conducted  by  a 
native  girl,  with  great  restraint  and  in  perfect  time ;  the 
musical  gifts  of  the  people,  their  keen  sense  of  time,  tune, 
and  harmony  was  audible.  Prayers  were  uttered  by 
native  men,  fathers  in  the  church,  and  in  the  liquid  Zulu 
and  cadence  of  expression  their  command  of  language  was 
expressed. 

After  this  service  an  adjournment  was  made  to  the 
new  school  building  for  the  ceremony  of  the  da}-.  The 
broad  verandah  was  filled  with  the  visitors  and  principal 
natives,  in  front  the  school  children  in  ranged  order,  and 
all  round  them,  crowding  near  to  get  a  full  view,  were 
natives  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes.  Before  the  proceedings 
here  began  there  was  a  notable  accession  to  the  numbers. 
Galloping  up  the  winding  road,  and  drawing  rein  just  be- 
hind the  clean  white  ranks  of  the  Christian  girls,  came  the 
hereditary  chief  of  the  Qadi  clan,  followed  by  his  coun- 
sellors and  attendants,  clad  for  the  most  part  in  the  mut3'a 
of  their  ancestors,  and  shouting  the  praises  of  their  chief 
as  their  fathers  had  done  to  his  fathers  on  both  sides  of 
the  Tugela  for  the  long-past  years.  Drawn  up  in  array 
the  chief  welcomed  the  representative  of  the  Government, 
who  suitably  replied,  and  the  cavalcade  then  mingled  with 
the  crowd.  Significant  of  much  was  the  contrast.  Sit- 
ting on  the  verandah,  his  back  against  one  of  the  posts, 
chin  on  hands,  was  a  finely  built,  elderly  follower  of  the 


94  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

chief,  utterly  naked  except  for  the  fur  skins  around  his 
waist.  Standing  above  and  around  him  were  men  of  his 
own  race  and  tribe,  dressed  in  the  black  frock  coat  and 
full  panoply  of  a  European  on  a  similar  occasion,  not  a 
detail  omitted.  Singular  it  was  to  note  the  utter  uncon- 
sciousness of  the  naked  barbarian  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  equal  unconsciousness  of  his  clothed  and  groomed 
brothers  on  the  other,  neither  apparently  noticing  the 
incongruity  of  the  contrast,  so  apparent,  almost  so  gro- 
tesque to  us. 

Speeches,  singing,  and  prayers  followed,  the  school 
was  duly  opened  and  admired,  the  flag  saluted,  Bayete 
shouted  in  deep  bass  and  light  treble,  and  the  gathering 
broke  up  to  feast.  It  was  a  picture  to  be  remembered, — 
one  which  was  full  of  significance,  and  made  one  ponder 
much.  The  representatives  of  the  white  man's  Govern- 
ment on  the  verandah  ;  in  front  the  hundreds  of  natives, 
clothed,  intelligent  girls  of  splendid  physique,  learning  the 
white  man's  code  of  morality,  his  way  of  life  ;  the  chief 
and  his  followers,  the  embodiment  of  the  ancestral  life, 
carrying  one  back  to  the  old  days  of  the  Qadi  tribe  in 
Zululand ;  behind,  the  long  range  of  the  Inanda  with 
its  cliff  buttresses  and  table  top, — intensely  African 
was  the  scene,  and  intimately  African  the  thoughts  it 
suggested. 

This  was  on  Thursday,  and  on  Sunday  at  noon  the  huge 
mail  steamer,  timed  with  the  accuracy  of  an  express  train, 
will  steam  round  the  Bluff  of  Natal  carrying  as  passenger 
from  Europe  a  member  of  the  tribe,  a  one-time  pupil  of 
the  school.  Years  ago,  after  getting  the  rudiments  of 
education,  on  his  own  initiative  he  worked  his  passage 
from  Natal  via  England  to  America.  There,  in  the  inter- 
vals of  labouring  for  his  own  support,  he  carried  on  his 
studies,  entered  the  University,  and  won  the  highest 
honours  in,  at  least,  one  competition  open  to  the  most 
cultured  youths  of  the  white  race.  Thence  to  England, 
where,  having  learned  what  one  of  the  ancient  Universities 
could  teach,  he  studied  law  in  the  Inner  Temple  and  in 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  95 

Holland,   and   was  now  coining  back  to   his   own   land, 
tribe,  and  people ! 

In  the  mind  of  the  true  missionary  there  can  be  no 
doubt  about  the  value  of  this  work.  To  him,  or  to  her, 
it  is  the  highest  to  which  men  and  women  can  devote 
their  lives.  To  bring  the  truths  of  the  Christian  faith  to 
people  in  the  darkness  of  heathendom,  to  clothe  the  naked, 
to  impress  their  ideals  of  faith,  morality,  enlightenment 
upon  those  living  in  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  is  their 
highest  duty  and  most  valued  privilege.  To  this  end 
they  have  made  sacrifices,  left  home,  friends,  and  congenial 
surroundings  for  isolation  and  often  unrequited  or  only 
partly  recognized  toil  Men  and  women,  fired  with  this 
holy  zeal,  this  abandonment  of  self  and  its  ordinary 
ambitions,  we  have  seen  and  known. 

To  many,  who  also  know  the  native  and  who  wish 
him  well,  possibly  even  some  who  took  part,  if  not  as 
principals,  at  least  as  witnesses,  of  the  inspiring  events  of 
yesterday,  many  and  grave  thoughts  are  suggested  :  the 
way  does  not  always  seem  so  clear,  the  duty  so  obvious, 
the  end  striven  for  so  absolutely  good  as  would  at  first 
glance  appear.     We  still  have  obstinate  questionings. 

Social  upheavals,  an  entire  change  of  attitude  towards 
life,  the  uprooting  of  the  race  ideals  and  the  inculcation  of 
those  of  another  race,  are  of  such  profound  importance 
that  the  true  value  and  significance  of  the  results  may 
well  be  doubtful,  even  after  the  experience  of  half  a 
century.  That  they  will  be  exactly  as  hoped  for  is  hardly 
likely  ;  absolute  good  is  never  attained  in  this  world  ;  a 
mingled  web  of  varying  colours  it  is  at  best,  and  well  for 
us  if  the  light  shades  predominate  over  the  dark. 

I  think  that  some  of  those  engaged  in  missionary 
work  are  fully,  and  perhaps  sorrowfully,  alive  to  this,  and 
feel,  after  years  of  labour,  that  they  must  be  prepared  for 
only  partial  success.  They  have  come  to  realize  that 
simply  to  swell  the  numbers  of  those  who  profess 
Christianity  and  wear  clothes  is  not  sufficient,  and  that 
the  whole  life  of  the  native,  both  as  relating  to  those  of 


96  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

his  own  race  and  those  of  the  intrusive  dominant  one 
that  has  come  and  disturbed  his  environment,  must  be 
tal<;en  into  account.  That  though  the  teaching  of  Christi- 
anity is  still  their  chief  aim,  the  inculcation  of  morals  in 
the  widest  sense,  the  teaching  of  habits  of  cleanliness, 
thrift,  industry,  the  encouragement  of  better  methods  of 
agriculture  and  housing,  which  should  all  mean  the  build- 
ing up  of  character,  is  of  the  first  importance. 

Some  missionaries  also  recognize  that  the  old  life  was 
not  altogether  bad — that  many  fine  traits  of  character 
were  present  in  the  old  heathen, — and  are  anxious  to  con- 
serve what  was  good  in  their  old  life  and  customs ;  and 
that  deep  study  on  the  sociological  side,  as  well  as  devo- 
tion to  their  first  ideal,  is  necessary. 

Those  who  sit  in  the  seats  of  the  scorner  and  sarcastic- 
ally talk  of  the  moral  pocket-handkerchief  ideal  of  the 
missionary,  do  not  know  of  the  heart  searchings  of  many 
who,  while  never  relinquishing  their  primary  object,  do 
feel  the  complexity  of  the  problem  growing  from  more  to 
more.  The  fact  that  the  true  way  is  not  making  the  black 
man  a  poor  imitation  of  the  white  man  with  an  adopted 
creed  and  civilization,  in  the  evolution  of  which  he  has 
had  no  part,  is  being  brought  home  to  some  of  those  who 
are  working  in  this  field.  They  are  now  feeling  that  if 
the  work  is  to  have  any  lasting  value  it  must  not  be 
wholly  by  imitation,  but  by  adaptation,  often  by  rejection  ; 
that  much  which  was  good  for  the  white  man,  and  had 
a  great  value  by  reason  of  the  training  necessitated  in  its 
acquirement  by  the  race,  cannot  be  grafted  on  to  the  black 
man. 

Thus  the  closest  watching  is  necessary.  Experiments 
must  be  tried,  an  open  mind  retained,  the  methods  changed 
as  advance  is  made,  if  the  raising  of  the  black  man  is  to 
be  an  evolution  running  parallel  to  the  fibres  of  mind  and 
character,  and  not  an  imposition  on  the  surface,  pandering 
to  his  vanity  and  leaving  him  without  inner  resource  and 
restraint,  the  result  of  which  will  be  the  imitation  and  adop- 
tion of  the  vices,  rather  than  the  virtues  of  the  white  man. 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  97 

I  believe  in  speaking  thus  I  am  voicing  the  opinions  of 
some  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  mission  work  among 
the  Abantu,  and  that  the  complexity  of  the  question  is 
fully  realized  by  many  of  them,  perhaps  even  to  a  greater 
extent  than  it  is  by  thoughtful  colonists.  Whether  all 
the  missionaries  would  agree  with  my  statement  of  the 
case  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  some  practical  recognition  of 
it  has  obtained  among  most,  for  their  work  has  gone  far 
beyond  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  such  literary 
instruction  as  would  icnable  their  disciples  to  read  the 
Bible.  They  have  entered  into  the  life  of  the  people, 
have  taught  trades,  encouraged  thrift  and  industry,  made 
efforts  to  teach  better  methods  of  agriculture,  induced 
them  to  build  better  houses  and  use  furniture,  and  among 
the  women  have  given  instruction  in  house  and  laundry 
work  and  taught  them  some  simple  industries.  They  are 
all  anxious,  if  adequate  support  is  forthcoming,  to  under- 
take this  and  similar  work  on  a  larger  scale  than  anything 
hitherto  attempted. 

It  will  come  as  a  surprise  to  many  to  learn  that 
missionary  effort  is  the  only  force  which  has  yet,  in  any 
direct  way,  attempted  the  education  and  uplifting  of  the 
Abantu  people  over  a  large  portion  of  South  East  Africa. 
Governments  have  given  grants  in  aid  to  the  work,  only 
amounting  in  all  to  a  niggardly  percentage  of  the  direct 
taxes  paid  by  the  natives ;  but  there  are  no  Government 
schools,  or  a  single  institution  in  the  whole  country  run 
solely  by  Government  for  the  training  of  the  natives  in 
arts  or  industry. 

So  that  the  missionary  stands  to  the  native  for  religion, 
education  ;  for  all  help  he  may  get  to  make  his  life  cleaner, 
more  moral,  and  more  in  keeping  with  the  ideals  of  the 
white  man  at  his  best.  And  as  it  is  in  the  position  of 
this  single  altruistic  force  that  we  have  to  regard  the 
missionary,  we  can  surely  hardly  overestimate  his  im- 
portance as  a  factor  in  our  inquiry. 

There  are  three  main  forces  at  the  present  time  acting 
upon  the  life  of  the  Abantu  people.      The    first    is   the 

7 


98  BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

power  of  custom  and  habit,  principally  shown  in  his  ad- 
hesion to  his  old  tribal  life.  This  has  been  a  most  potent 
and  valuable  factor  in  the  past  in  conserving  much  that 
was  good  in  character  and  life,  and  especially  in  stemming 
the  disruptive  forces  set  into  operation  by  the  presence  of 
the  white  man,  and,  against  these,  setting  the  authority  and 
control  of  a  social  system  evolved  by  and  suited  to  the 
race  in  their  old  environment. 

The  second  is  the  change  brought  about  by  the  in- 
coming of  the  white  man  and  his  assumption  of  govern- 
ment, the  whole  trend  of  which  is  to  undermine  the 
socialistic  conceptions  of  the  people  and  to  weaken  their 
racial  controls.  Gradually  disintegrating  these,  neither  the 
individual  European,  nor  his  Governments  (with  exceptions 
to  be  noted  later)  have  seriously  attempted  to  put  any- 
thing in  their  place,  and  the  general  consensus  of  opinion 
is  that  the  result,  so  far,  has  been  the  premature  relaxation 
of  wholesome  restraints  and  the  assumption  of  liberty, 
sometimes  tending  towards  license,  in  those  as  yet  quite 
unfitted  for  its  proper  exercise. 

The  third  force  is  that  exercised  by  the  missionaries. 
In  the  early  days  the  teaching  and  influence  of  the 
missionaries  were  probably  the  strongest  factors  in  the 
breaking  down  of  the  old  order,  but  with  the  increase  of 
European  population,  and  especially  since  the  opening 
up  of  the  Witwatersrand  and  other  gold-fields,  their  in- 
fluence in  this  disintegrating  operation  is  comparatively 
small.  What  is  affecting  the  most  profound  change  in 
the  native  is  his  contact  with  the  white  man  at  all  points, 
and  this  change  is  proceeding  with  ever-accelerated  speed. 
The  fundamental  differences  between  these  changes  and 
those  wrought  by  the  missionaries,  are  that,  in  the  former 
there  is  little  building  up  of  any  salutary  influence  to 
take  the  place  of  the  old  wholesome  restraints,  whilst  in 
the  latter  religion  and  morality  are  inculcated  and  replace 
the  checks  weakened  or  destroyed.  The  former  has  been 
largely  destructive ;  the  latter,  though  destroying  much, 
some  of  which  was  of  value,  has  consciously  aimed  at  and 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  99 

attempted  to  give  the  higher  sanctions.  And  as  I  have 
tried  to  point  out,  whilst,  perhaps  at  first,  these  were 
limited  to  the  teaching  of  Christian  rehgion  and  morality, 
there  is  a  growing  recognition  of  the  value  of  some  features 
in  the  old  life,  and  also,  on  the  other  hand,  a  disposition  to 
widen  the  basis  of  reconstruction,  and  include  among  it 
all  that  is  likely  to  tend  to  a  higher  and  better  life,  and  to 
attempt  to  make  it  more  securely  founded  by  giving  it  a 
physical  basis  in  the  improved  material  life  and  surround- 
ings of  the  people.  Also,  most  important  of  all,  to  en- 
deavour so  to  study  the  people  as  to  take  advantage  of, 
and  not  run  counter  to,  their  racial  genius. 

If  this  is  a  true  statement  of  the  position,  it  surely 
behoves  all  students  of  the  problem,  and  all  those  who 
wish  the  best  for  the  Abantu,  to  encourage  and  support 
those  who  are  the  only  ones  consciously  taking  in  hand 
this  essential  reconstructive  work.  Especially  should  the 
student  of  sociology,  and  those  altruists  who  have  seriously 
studied  the  question,  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  more  en- 
lightened missionaries  who  desire  to  adopt  the  broader 
conception  of  their  work  I  have  tried  to  indicate,  whose 
endeavours  to  advance  the  people  are  guided  by  a  know- 
ledge and  appreciation  of  the  good  that  is  in  them,  and 
who  recognize  that  the  advance  may  be  on  different  lines 
to  those  we  are  accustomed  to  in  ourselves. 

Some  six  years  before  the  first  wagon  of  the  Voor- 
trekkers  descended  the  passes  of  the  Drakensberg,  mis- 
sionaries were  labouring  among  the  Abantu  of  Natal. 
Since  that  time  representatives  of  all  the  northern  nations 
of  Europe,  of  Anglo-Saxon  America,  and  of  the  Trappist 
and  other  Roman  Catholic  orders,  have  been  engaged  in 
the  work.  A  special  word  may  be  said  with  regard  to 
the  last  named.  Beginning  their  work  in  the  early  days 
of  the  eighties  of  last  century  at  Marianhill  near  Pinetown 
in  Natal,  they  have  now  over  thirty  stations  in  that 
colony  and  Griqualand  East.  Some  of  these  comprise 
very  large  areas,  one  in  the  latter  territory  is  50,000  acres 
in  extent.     To  a  larger  degree  than  most  other  missionary 


loo     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

bodies  they  lay  stress  on  the  gospel  of  labour,  and  a  visit 
to  the  old  station  of  Marianhill  has  been  a  revelation  to 
many.  Almost  all  trades  are  there  taught  in  practical 
fashion,  and  a  considerable  number  of  natives  have  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  crafts,  including  carpentering, 
smith's  work,  printing,  masonry,  leatherwork,  and  wagon- 
making.  Most  of  these  find  employment  at  the  other 
stations  of  the  brotherhood,  or  among  their  own  people. 
Work  is  found  for  native  girls  in  a  factory  in  which 
clothing  is  made  on  commercial  lines,  much  of  it  being 
sold  in  Johannesburg.  A  conspicuous  feature  among  the 
native  converts  at  these  stations  is  their  respectful 
demeanour  to  the  European  brothers  and  sisters,  and  to 
Europeans  generally. 

Perhaps  in  no  part  of  the  area  with  which  we  are 
dealing,  can  the  results  of  missionary  effort  be  better  ex- 
emplified than  in  Basutoland.  There  they  have  been  at 
work  since  the  early  days  of  the  nation,  when  Moshesh 
invited  two  of  the  missionaries  attached  to  the  French 
Protestant  Mission  to  live  with  him  and  enlighten  his 
people.  They  had  an  arduous  and  uphill  struggle,  for  at 
that  time  the  people  were  saturated  with  their  old  beliefs, 
and  the  teachers  of  the  new  faith  were  strenuously  opposed 
by  all  those  who  gained  power  and  position  under  the 
old  system  of  heathenism  and  witchcraft.  Whilst  not 
seldom  in  danger  from  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the 
people  themselves,  their  position  was  made  still  more 
difficult  by  reason  of  the  constant  wars,  internecine  and 
against  Europeans.  Often  regarding  the  assaults  of  the 
latter  unjustifiable,  they  took  the  side  of  the  Basuto,  and 
plainly  spoke  what  they  considered  the  truth  to  those  of 
their  own  race,  to  be  stigmatized  by  the  latter  as  renegades 
to  civilization  and  progress.  In  many  difficult  situations 
they  displayed  physical  and  moral  courage,  tact  and  judg- 
ment, and  a  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  their  wards, 
which  has  borne  fruit  in  these  later  days.  For  to-day 
there  is  an  amicable  understanding  between  the  adminis- 
tration and  the  missionaries,  and  the  work  of  the  latter  has 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  loi 

extended  and  prospered.  At  the  present  time  there  are 
some  18,000  communicants  and  40,000  adherents  attached 
to  the  French  Protestant  Mission  in  Basutoland.  They 
have  many  churches  and  schools,  training  institutions  for 
teachers,  printing  presses,  and  industrial  establishments 
for  teaching  trades.  To  show  the  excellent  understanding 
between  the  administration  and  those  who  are  doing  this 
work  I  quote  from  the  pages  of  Sir  Godfrey  Lagden's 
work  the  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Sloley,  the  Resident 
Commissioner,  at  the  75th  anniversary  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  French  Protestant  Mission  in  the  land:  "It 
was  a  unique  spectacle  in  South  Africa,  a  native  tribe 
dwelling  in  peace  and  prosperity  under  their  own  chief 
and  their  own  laws,  a  people  advancing  in  civilization 
and  having  everywhere  the  advantages  of  religious  and 
secular  education  freely  offered  to  them.  That  this  is  so 
is  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  Paris  Evangelical 
Mission,  There  were  other  contributing  causes.  The 
Government  of  the  late  Queen  had  fostered  the  people. 
Much  credit  also  belonged  to  the  moderation  and  wisdom 
of  the  chiefs  under  whom  they  had  lived  for  four  genera- 
tions, and  praise  was  due  to  the  natural  common  sense  of 
the  people.  But  if  one  influence  more  than  another  had 
helped  the  Basuto,  it  was  the  missionary  influence  which 
began  seventy-five  years  ago.  The  results  achieved  were 
such  as  encouraged  missionaries  and  laymen  alike  to  do 
their  plain  duty  and  to  trust  the  future  of  the  native 
people." 

There  is  another  side.  When  one  considers  the  vast 
numbers  still  living  as  did  their  fathers,  still  polygamists, 
still  consulting  the  witch  doctors,  progress  would  seem 
to  have  been  lamentably  slow,  and  the  response  to  the 
call  but  a  low  cry.  Perhaps  it  was  well  for  the  race 
that  their  conservatism  did  so  far  prevail,  A  sudden 
conversion  of  the  people  contemporaneous  w'ith  the  influx 
of  Europeans  and  the  vast  changes  wrought  thereby, 
might  have  brought  to  pass  a  position  difficult  for  both 
black  and  white,  and  adjustment  might  onl}'  have  been 


102    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

possible  through  blood  and  tears.  Progress,  great  pro- 
gress, has  been  made;  the  difference  between  1 836  and  1 9 10 
is  immense,  incalculable,  but  it  has  been  such  as  to  enable 
an  essentially  conservative  people  to  assimilate  it.  There 
have  been  periods  of  reaction ;  mission  stations  once 
prosperous  may  be  shown,  where,  in  the  absence  of 
European  control,  retrogression  is  obvious  ;  but  there  are 
many  in  which  progress  has  been  cumulative,  and  which 
are  object  lessons  to  the  neighbouring  people.  There 
are  numerous  instances  of  God-fearing  natives  who  have 
taken  on  the  responsibilities  of  a  Christian  and  civilized 
life,  who  are  respected  by  all  who  know  them,  black  and 
white  alike. 

It  was  the  fashion  in  past  years,  even  among 
churchgoing  Europeans,  to  decry  the  Christian  native 
and  to  compare  him,  much  to  his  disadvantage,  with  his 
heathen  brother.  I  am  afraid  that  the  standard  by  which 
both  were  judged  was  not  the  benefit  or  otherwise  to  the 
native,  not  whether  he  himself  was  intrinsically  improved, 
but  whether  he  came  up  to  the  standard  of  what  a  black 
man  should  be  in  the  eyes  of  a  white  man.  And  the  relation 
was  that  of  employer  and  employed,  and  to  make  a  "good 
nigger"  in  this  sense,  the  employed  should  be  always  def- 
erential, willing  to  accept  what  was  regarded  as  sufficient 
for  a  black  man  in  regard  to  housing,  feeding,  and  wages, 
and  above  all  free  from  any  airs  or  assumptions.  In  these 
respects  the  raw  native  was  perfect,  his  tribal  training 
ensured  this,  whilst  the  mission  boy  was,  too  often,  self- 
conscious  and  not  too  well-mannered.  Any  other  virtues 
or  acquirements  were  either  non-regarded  or  considered 
as  unbecoming  in  a  native,  and  he  was  judged  on  his  little 
unpleasantnesses,  which  would  have  been  tolerated  or 
thought  quite  natural  in  a  European.  I  think  too  little 
attention  was  paid  to  manners  in  their  education ;  but 
there  were  numerous  instances  in  which,  to  the  natural 
politeness  and  respect  of  the  raw  Zulu,  the  Christian 
native  added  acquired  virtues  which  were  worthy  of  all 
praise.     And  at  the  time  when  this  dictum  was  most  in 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  103 

vogue,  every  native  wearing  more  than  the  ragtag  ac- 
coutrements of  the  kraal  native,  when  he  came  into  town 
to  work,  was  accounted  a  Christian,  and  the  mission 
system  charged  with  his  faults  and  deficiencies  even 
though  he  had  never  been  under  instruction  in  his  hfe. 

Another  generalization  which  obtained  popular  cur- 
rency was  that,  however  a  native  was  educated,  at  the 
first  opportunity  or  relaxation  of  control,  he  threw  off  the 
habiliments  of  civilization  and  reverted  to  the  mutya  and 
blanket  and  all  his  old  barbarous  customs — the  call  of  his 
savage  nature  was  too  strong  for  him.  That  this  did 
happen  in  cases  is  true.  All  who  know  the  Abantu  are 
fully  aware  how  strong  is  their  attachment  to  their  ancient 
life — their  history  during  the  last  fifty  years  shows  this  ; 
it  is  the  virtue  of  a  strong  race,  and  the  temptation  to 
reversion  must  be,  in  some  cases,  overwhelming.  The 
wonder  is  that  such  instances  are  so  few,  for  in  comparison 
to  those  who  stand  fast  they  are  few  indeed. 

It  is  quite  a  common  thing  in  Natal  to  hear  it  said  that 
the  Amakolwa,  or  some  individuals  who  come  under  this 
name,  have  gone  back,  are  lazy,  immoral,  unclean.  Lazi- 
ness, even  immorality,  are  matters  of  evidence,  degree,  and 
opinion,  and  such  a  general  charge  is  easy  to  make  and  often 
difficult  to  disprove.  During  the  inquiry  of  the  Natal 
Native  Commission,  extending  over  nearly  twelve  months, 
I  made  a  point,  in  every  part  of  Natal  and  Zululand,  to 
try  and  elucidate  this  aspect  of  the  case.  To  make  my 
inquiry  definite  I  confined  it  to  natives  who  were  exempted 
from  native  law,  and  who,  in  nearly  every  case,  were 
professed  Christians.  I  also  limited  it  to  the  one  question 
of  reversion  to  polygamy,  on  which  a  clear  and  definite 
answer  could  be  given,  and  it  was  put  to  those  who 
favoured  Missions  and  exemption,  and  those  who  opposed 
both.  My  definite  question  was.  Do  you,  of  3^our  own 
personal  knowledge,  know  any  exempted  natives  who 
have  fallen  back  into  polygamy  ?  From  the  answers 
received  it  was  made  clear  to  me  that  such  cases  were  re- 
markably few.     It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  if  a  native 


I04     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

lapses    into    barbarism    the  greatest   temptation    thereto 
would  be  to  obtain  a  plurality  of  wives. 

Unfortunately  too,  it  is  the  fact  that  when  an  educated 
and  nominally  Christian  native  turns  out  badly,  and  uses 
his  acquirements  for  his  sensual  gratification  or  unlawful 
personal  gain,  a  chorus  of  condemnation  goes  up,  not 
against  the  individual  native,  but  against  the  system  which 
makes  such  a  product  possible.  These  unfortunate 
instances  are  quoted  and  emphasized  in  any  general 
conversation  about  Missions  far  more  frequently  than 
are  the  many  cases  in  which  the  Amakolwa  live  exemplary 
lives.  The  backsliding  of  professed  Christians,  the  abuse 
of  education  to  low  and  selfish  ends,  are  not  unknown 
among  ourselves,  but  these  instances  are  not  deemed  to 
utterly  condemn  Christianity  and  education.  Let  us  be 
fair,  and  take  into  full  consideration  the  far  greater  diffi- 
culties of  the  native,  and  especially  those  due  to  race  and 
environment,  and  after  due  entry  of  debit  and  credit,  try 
to  strike  a  just  balance. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  self-consciousness  and  lack  of 
respect  sometimes  displayed  by  station  natives,  and  com- 
pared it  with  the  almost  invariable  deference  shown  to 
Europeans  and  superiors  which  is  so  conspicuous  a 
characteristic  of  the  real  kraal  native.  This  is  probably 
the  chief  failing  of  the  educated  man  in  the  eyes  of  the 
average  colonist.  Actuated  by  the  frequency  of  this  and 
similar  charges,  so  often  made  against  mission  natives, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Le  Roy  of  the  American  Zulu  Mission  in 
Natal  compiled  a  list  of  some  ninety-one  natives,  who  had 
been  educated  and  trained  by  them,  and  who  had  left  their 
stations  to  work  for  themselves.  The  inquiry  was  directed 
to  those  who  had  actually  employed  the  boys,  and  included 
questions  concerning  their  general  attitude  and  behaviour. 
Most  of  the  employers  replied,  and  the  answers  as  far  as 
these  natives  went  were  conclusively  in  their  favour,  not 
only  with  reference  to  their  ability  and  industry,  but  also 
as  regards  behaviour.  Many  of  these  answers  were 
characteristically  colonial,  such  as  "best  I  ever  had,"  "a 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  105 

rattling  good  boy,"  "  would  engage  him  again  to-morrow," 
and  so  on.  To  give  accurate  figures.  Out  of  forty-seven 
working  in  Durban,  unqualified  approval  was  given  in  the 
case  of  forty-four,  and  not  one  was  charged  with  disrespect ; 
out  of  forty-four  working  in  Johannesburg,  thirty-eight 
received  excellent  characters  from  their  employers,  and 
again  no  complaint  was  made  of  bad  behaviour  or  disre- 
spect. The  old  uneducated  and  uncontaminated  Zulu 
could  not  have  earned  a  better  character. 

To  summarize,  I  think  it  can  be  shown  that  the  once 
generally  accepted  formula,  which  is  not  yet  dead,  stig- 
matizing Christian  natives  as  useless  and  below  the 
standard  of  the  raw  native,  is  one  of  those  generalizations, 
accepted  without  due  inquiry  and  thought,  which  have 
done  so  much  in  the  past  to  obscure  the  true  facts  and 
issues  of  our  question. 

One  of  the  highest  services  rendered  to  the  State  b}' 
the  missionaries  must  now  be  mentioned,  and  the  more  so 
because  I  have  not  heard  it  claimed  by  them,  and  it  is 
certainly  not  recognized  by  the  public.  Underlying  the 
evidence  given  by  the  natives  before  the  Natal  Native 
Commission  was  a  feeling,  not  often  directly  expressed, 
but  unquestionably  ever  present,  of  a  shaken  confidence 
in  the  desire  of  Europeans  in  general,  and  the  Govern- 
ment in  particular,  for  their  well-being.  The  old  faith 
in  the  good  intentions  of  the  Government,  and  their 
belief  that  it  was  animated  by  a  desire  to  protect 
and  help  them,  was  seldom  expressed  v/ith  any  real 
conviction.  The  rock  in  a  thirsty  land  no  longer  gave 
shade  to  them.  In  place  was  a  feeling  of  suspicion,  some- 
times amounting  to  a  fixed  idea,  that  the  white  man  was 
ever  concocting  deep-laid  schemes  for  their  exploitation, 
was  planning  to  make  money  out  of  them.  Confidence 
in  us,  not  only  in  our  justice  but  in  our  fatherliness,  is 
essential  to  true  success  with  the  Abantu.  In  a  time 
when  doubt  as  to  our  good  intentions  was  rife,  when 
confidence  in  our  goodwill  was  shaken,  the  unselfishness 
and  altruism  of  the  missionar}'  stood  fast,  as  a  pledge  to 


io6    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  native  that  the  white  man  still  desired  his  good,  still 
stood  as  a  father  to  him,  and  that  cash,  or  its  value  in 
material  things,  was  not  the  only  bond  between  black  and 
white.  A  bulwark  to  a  shattered  and  fast-disappearing 
faith  were  and  are  these  men,  and  it  is  a  service  to  the 
State  and  to  their  race  which  can  hardly  be  too  highly 
estimated. 

Many  of  those  who  are  hostile  or  apathetic  to  the  work 
now  undertaken  by  the  missionaries,  are  willing  to  tolerate 
some  teaching  of  religion,  but  are  opposed  to  giving  the 
natives  education.  "  An  educated  nigger  is  a  spoiled 
nigger,"  say  such.  Before  I  enter  into  the  question  of 
education,  literary  and  industrial,  and  how  that  education 
should  be  formulated  and  applied  to  suit  the  peculiar  needs 
of  the  position,  I  would  like  briefly  to  state  the  present 
position  of  affairs,  and  put  a  definite  question  to  the  ob- 
jectors. 

We  have,  among  us,  an  overwhelming  preponderance 
of  these  people,  we  are  a  white  speck  in  a  black  mass. 
They  live  in  two  camps  of  unequal  size,  the  vast  majority 
as  did  their  fathers  as  tribesmen,  the  minority,  more  or 
less  educated,  and  following  at  greater  or  less  distance, 
our  life.  We  have  so  far  broken  in  upon  them  as  to 
notably  decrease,  in  some  cases  to  entirely  kill,  much  that 
in  the  old  time  made  up  their  interest  in  life.  Before  we 
arrived  and  in  the  early  days  of  our  occupation  their  lives, 
though  easy,  were  not  vacant,  they  had  many  interests  and 
congenial  occupations.  Their  share  in  their  own  govern- 
ment was  limited,  but  they  knew  what  was  going  on  and 
were  not  ignored ;  from  time  to  time  they  were  called  up 
to  the  kraal  of  the  chief,  and  indirectly,  their  opinions  had 
weight  and  formed  custom  and  law.  Under  a  tyrant  they 
could  not  become  lethargic  or  apathetic,  the  danger  of 
some  arbitrary  action  kept  them  on  the  alert,  but  their 
position  was  not  irremediable,  for  they  could  and  did  rise, 
directly  or  by  proxy,  and  assert  their  rights.  The  witch- 
craft which  they  dreaded,  prevented  them  from  stagnating, 
and  folk  lore  and  myth  gave  interest  to  their  lives.     Their 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  107 

strong  physical  natures  found  vent  in  warlike  expeditions 
and  tribal  fights,  the  country  was  full  of  game,  and  hunt- 
ing was  a  frequent  exercise  which  worked  off  their  hot 
blood.  Their  weapons  and  utensils  were  simple  enough, 
but  all  had  to  be  made  by  hand  from  raw  materials 
which  had  to  be  found,  and  the  manufacture  gave  scope 
to  considerable  ingenuity  and  some  little  artistic  effort. 

All  this  we  have  changed.  ,The  pride  of  the  Zulu  in  his 
king  is  limited  to  a  tribal  head  under  control  of  the  magis- 
trate. His  laws  are  ready-made  for  him  by  the  European, 
and  his  opinion  thereon  is  never  asked,  his  interests  have 
degenerated  into  grievances.  The  great  and  absorbing 
game  of  war  is  forbidden  him,  and  even  faction  fights  are 
severely  (too  severely)  punished.  The  great  herds  of 
wild  animals  have  gone,  and  hunting,  as  his  fathers  knew 
it,  with  its  thrilling  dangers,  is  a  thing  of  the  past ;  at  best 
he  is  called  out  as  beater  to  a  European  shooting  harmless 
buck.  The  weapons  and  utensils,  to  the  making  of  which 
he  had  to  devote  time,  patience,  and  skill,  are  now  bought 
at  the  store  of  the  Asiatic  or  white  man.  The  old  cus- 
toms, the  stories,  folk  lore  and  myth,  with  knowledge  of 
woodcraft  and  plant,  all  of  which  stimulated  the  mental 
powers  and  imagination,  are  rapidly  being  forgotten. 

As  I  cannot  too  often  reiterate,  they  are,  though  out- 
wardly little  changed,  undergoing  inward  changes,  and 
the  whole  process  amounts  to  bewilderment.  The  young 
people  are  getting  out  of  hand ;  the  simple  interest  their 
fathers  had  in  their  natural  surroundings  and  social  life  is 
dwindling,  and  they  look  for  excitement  in  more  frequent 
visits  to  town  and  in  beer  drinking.  This  casting  down 
of  restraint  and  sanctions,  coupled  with  the  comparative 
monotony  of  their  lives,  is  leading  rapidly,  in  the 
opinion  of  nearly  all  observers,  to  deterioration  of  char- 
acter. Neither  the  colonists  in  their  private  capacit}',  nor 
the  Government  as  representing  them,  are  replacing  the 
old  activities  with  any  adequate  substitute,  and  for  the 
old  recognized  and  accepted  control  familiar  to  them,  is 
put    the   policeman.       Laws    without    end    are    made    to 


io8     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

prevent  their  injuring  the  white  man,  but  few  which  aim 
at  their  own  benefit. 

Briefly  summarized  this  is  the  position  to-day. 

I  ask  the  objectors  this  question  :  If  they  are  left  to 
work  out  their  own  salvation  in  these  altered  and  un- 
familiar surroundings  what  will  be  the  result  ?  Did  we 
retire  from  the  scene  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  through 
some  turmoil  and  bloodshed  they  would  readjust  them- 
selves, and  the  majority  congratulate  themselves  they 
were  rid  of  the  white  man.  But  we  remain,  and  in  our 
presence  and  under  our  government  can  they  satisfactorily 
heal  the  wounds,  and  rebalance  the  parts  of  the  organism, 
at  present  injured  and  out  of  gear,  so, that  it  shall  work  in 
the  future  with  a  minimum  of  friction  and  a  maximum  of 
good  ?  I  doubt  it — the  change  is  too  rapid  and  violent ; 
they  are  learning  what  is  extraneous  and  often  vicious, 
the  characteristics  and  habits  of  which  the  white  man  is 
himself  ashamed ;  the  deeper  life,  the  inward  sanctions 
are  not  seen.  The  obvious  gratifications  and  the  vices 
they  copy,  the  self-restraints  and  the  virtues  are  hidden 
from  them.  If  I  am  right  in  my  statement  of  the  present 
position,  and  I  feel  I  have  the  general  support  of  those 
who  know,  I  must  ask  the  opponents  of  missionary  work 
and  education  what  they  have  to  suggest?  Surely  to 
leave  these  people,  the  old  discipline  and  salutary  activities 
removed,  learning  the  vices  of  a  stronger  race  in  a  be- 
wildering and  ever-changing  environment,  to  welter 
through  it  all  untaught  and  without  guidance,  is  to  prepare 
to  reap  the  whirlwind,  and  is  utterly  unworthy  of  us  and 
of  the  race  to  which  we  belong.  What  sane  man,  recog- 
nizing the  position  as  I  have  tried  to  draw  it,  would 
remain  to  live  his  home  life  in  a  country  with  such  an 
outlook  as  this  before  him?  If  the  Abantu  were  people 
of  a  race  akin  to  our  own  in  such  condition,  the  remedy 
for  hopelessness  would  be  to  create  and  stimulate  an  in- 
telligent interest  in  life  by  giving  them  an  object,  such  as 
better  material  conditions,  for  which  to  work, — for  ignor- 
ance, education ;  for  immorality,  religious  and  moral  in- 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  109 

struction.  If  this  is  the  best  we  could  offer  to  those  of  our 
own  race,  is  it  not  our  duty  as  the  responsible  governors 
to  give  our  best  to  those  who,  largely  through  our  advent, 
are  in  this  condition?  I  have  made  it  abundantly  clear, 
that  exactly  what  would  suit  the  white  man  may  not  apply 
to  the  black  man ;  that  insight  and  discrimination  are 
needful,  and  our  remedies  must  peradventure  be  modified, 
even  profoundly  modified,  to  meet  his  racial  peculiarities 
and  needs.  In  our  ignorance  we  may  make  mistakes  ;  but 
again  I  ask,  is  it  not  due  to  us  to  give  our  best  to  balance 
the  worst  these  people  are  at  present  receiving  at  our 
hands  ?  If  so,  what  is  the  best  those  who  denounce  the 
missionary  and  his  works  would  give  ? 

I  have  put  the  question  many  times,  often  without 
answer,  and  at  best  have  been  told  that  our  policy  should 
be  to  keep  him  in  his  place.  Yes,  but  his  place  is  a  shift- 
ing one ;  we  ourselves  are  altering  the  plane ;  what  was 
his  place  yesterday  may  not  know  him  to-morrow.  This 
means,  in  other  words,  repression  with  an  appeal  to  the 
rifle.  If  this  is  the  only  policy,  the  white  man  will  solve 
the  problem  himself  by  leaving  South  Africa.  The  strain 
will  gradually  become  too  tense  for  all  but  the  strongest, 
and  South  Africa  will  never  become  a  home  for  our  race. 
To  my  mind  this  is  impossible.  We  have  no  choice;  we 
must  do  all  in  our  power  to  adjust,  if  not  to  solve  the 
problem,  and  for  the  present,  with  the  greatest  circum- 
spection, give  the  black  man  what  is  the  best  we  can  give, 
religious  instruction  and  education  in  its  best  and  broad- 
est sense.  The  generally  accepted  dictum  that  the 
natives  are  children  and  must  be  treated  as  such,  should  be 
accepted  with  reservations.  In  their  ignorance  of  the 
conditions  in  which  they  now  find  themselves,  and  their 
utter  inability  to  discern  whither  they  are  tending,  they 
are  children.  What  would  be  thought  of  the  parents, 
guardians,  authorities  who  seeing  their  wards,  with  the 
fullest  opportunities  for  mental  and  moral  deteriora- 
tion, the  operation  in  full  blast,  denied  them  access  to 
influences  and  instruction  calculated  to  counteract  these 


I  lo    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

pernicious  tendencies  ?     Yet  that   is   the  position  taken 
up  by  the  objector. 

The  South  African  Native  Commission  did  not  include 
a  single  member  who  could  be  looked  upon  as  represent- 
ative of  missionary  work  ;  the  majority  would  never  have 
been  considered  as  unduly  sympathetic  thereto ;  yet  read 
their  deliberate  and  unanimous  conclusion  : — 

Clause  289.  "  It  does  not  seem  practicable  to  propose 
any  measure  of  material  support  or  aid  to  the  purely 
spiritual  side  of  missionary  enterprise,  but  the  Commis- 
sion recommends  full  recognition  of  the  utility  of  the 
work  of  the  Churches  which  have  undertaken  the  duty  of 
evangelizing  the  heathen,  and  have  adopted  the  following 
resolution — 

"(a)  The  Commission  is  satisfied  that  one  great  ele- 
ment for  the  civilization  of  the  natives  is  to  be  found  in 
Christianity. 

"(Z*)  The  Commission  is  of  opinion  that  regular  moral 
and  religious  instruction  should  be  given  in  all  native 
schools." 

Whatever  religious  opinions  we  may  personally  hold, 
it  must  surely  be  conceded  that  in  a  new  scheme  of  life  for 
this  people  the  emotional  side  of  their  nature  must  not 
be  ignored.  A  cold  system  of  morality  may  be  a  suffi- 
cient guide  and  safeguard  for  a  few  of  unusual  tempera- 
ment among  ourselves,  but  even  we,  for  the  greater  part, 
require  a  plan  of  religion  and  morality  with  a  warmer 
and  more  personal  application.  The  negroes  of  the 
Southern  States  found  some  alleviation  of  their  stifled 
and  monotonous  life  in  camp  meeting  and  personal 
conversion.  We  are  now  trying  to  discover  by  what 
means  the  moral  standard  of  these  people  may  be  pre- 
vented from  dissolving  altogether,  and  how  what  is 
preserved  may  be  built  into  a  new  and  better  structure. 

I  entirely  agree  with  the  finding  of  the  South  African 
Commission,  that  there  is  nothing  conceivable  by  us  so 
likely  to  ensure  this  result  as  the  teaching  of  religion 
with  its  moral  obligations.      If  we  realize  how  the  old 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  in 

hopes  and  interests  are  failing  them,  we  should  try  to 
buttress  what  is  good,  and  show  a  light  to  which  they  can 
move  so  that  the  race  does  not  fall  into  sheer,  dark 
despair.  Without  object  or  guidance  their  emotions 
would  be  driven  to  find  vent  in  the  sensualism  to  which 
they  are  ever  too  prone.  Here  we  have  the  stimulus 
that  will  lift  them  above  their  animal  instincts,  and  give 
them  hope  and  a  wider  outlook.  Because,  forsooth, 
every  convert  is  not  a  Joseph  and  Saint  Paul  in  one,  the 
critics  of  the  missions  denounce  them  root  and  branch. 

Some  of  those  who  are  watching  the  signs  of  the 
times  in  Africa,  predict  that,  before  long,  the  religion  of 
Islam  moving  gradually  from  North  to  South  will  find  a 
seed-bed  ready  among  the  Abantu  of  the  South  ;  and  think 
that  in  this  will  be  supplied  the  cohesive  element  which 
will  bind  together  all  tribes  and  groups  of  the  people. 
They  point  out  that  there  is  much  in  the  religion  of 
Mahomet  that  will  appeal  to  and  satisfy  the  race  char- 
acteristics and  desires  of  the  Abantu.  Much  more  un- 
likely things  have  happened.  The  Mahometans  now 
resident  in  South  East  Africa  are  aliens  from  Asia,  and 
the  only  connexion  between  them  and  the  natives  has 
been  one  of  trade — no  attempt,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  been 
made  to  proselyti&e.  But  Africa  is  opening  fast,  and  in 
centres  like  Johannesburg,  and  ports  such  as  Durban,  are 
men  representing  many  races  and  tribes,  many  cultures 
and  religions,  and  in  the  break-up  of  the  old,  gaps  are 
left  for  the  entrance  of  the  new ;  it  is  hard  indeed  to  say 
how  far  such  a  contingency  is  possible. 

Let  us  have  some  constructive  criticism,  from  those 
who  would  deny  these  possibilities  and  ameliorations  to 
the  native ;  let  them  tell  us  what  provision  they  propose 
for  this  side  of  his  nature.  The  onus  of  finding  a  new 
way  of  life,  and  an  alternative,  is  upon  those  who  would 
refuse  education  and  religious  instruction  to  the  Abantu. 

The  only  way, to  make  him  a  useful  member  of  society 
(our  society)  is  to  increase  his  wants,  is  the  ordinary 
phi]gsoph_y  gf  the  European  critic,     A  platitude,  often  in 


112     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  mouths  of  those  who  would  oppose  any  attempt  to 
give  the  native  the  acquirements  necessary  to  supply 
his  increased  wants.  From  year  to  year,  the  requirements 
of  the  native  have  become  more  and  more,  and  so  far,  he 
has  either  been  able  to  satisfy  these  desires  or  had  philo- 
sophy enough  to  "know  the  want".  If  his  wants  are  to 
increase  and  his  usefulness  to  the  combined  society  (par- 
ticularly the  white  side)  in  South  East  Africa  to  be  thus 
enhanced,  surely  it  is  only  fair  and  reasonable  that  his 
ability  to  earn  should  also  be  greater.  This  can  only  be 
done  by  his  receiving  a  higher  wage  as  labourer,  by  his 
becoming  a  producer  on  his  own  account  on  a  larger  scale, 
or  by  widening  the  sphere  of  his  work  and  allowing  him 
to  enter  some  of  the  more  highly  paid  forms  of  labour. 
I  can  imagine  the  very  general  objection  to  the  first  named, 
and  I  know  the  opposition  there  will  be  to  the  latter  course. 
But  if  his  wants  are  to  be  increased,  if  he  is  to  become 
a  more  useful  member  of  society  in  the  economic  sense, 
it  is  surely  not  fair  to  fix  him  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma 
and  leave  him  there. 

Those  of  my  readers  who  have  followed  the  argument 
thus  far  will  recognize  that  I  do  not  advocate  the  education 
of  the  Abantu  solely  to  increase  his  value  to  the  State 
as  producer  or  wage-earner.  In  all  modern  States  this  is 
of  importance,  but,  primarily  I  do  so  because  I  feel  that 
something  must  be  given  to  supersede  the  old  activities 
and  interests,  and  hope  and  trust  in  the  future  must  enter 
into  the  lives  of  the  people.  I  want  to  prevent  deteriora- 
tion of  character,  more,  to  build  up  character,  not  neces- 
sarily on  our  lines,  but  on  what  may  prove  to  be  the  best 
method  of  conserving  what  is  best  in  their  race  character, 
and  working  up  from  that.  Any  scheme  propounded 
would  first  of  all  have  to  be  considered,  tested,  and  finally 
judged  on  its  value  in  this  regard.  The  questions  of  racial 
equality  with  miscegenation  will  be  considered  at  a  later 
stage,  but  meantime  I  have  tried  to  make  it  clear  that  I 
believe  both  races,  white  and  black  alike,  have  a  value  as 
races  to  humanity  and  the  world,  and  that  it  is  desirable 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  113 

in  all  our  actions  to  keep  this  in  mind,  and  in  education, 
as  in  all  our  other  policies,  to  prevent  overlapping  of  the 
races  with  its  possible  friction  and  animosities,  as  far  as 
possible.  Therefore  it  is  desirable  to  aim,  not  at  the 
higher  education  of  the  few,  not  to  produce  learned  pro- 
digies, but  to  raise  the  race  as  a  race,  to  elevate  the  mass 
uniformly  as  far  as  may  be. 

Whilst  this  should  be  our  general  aim,  we  must  make 
provision  for  the  higher  education  of  some  few  who  have 
special  work  to  do  among  their  own  people.  The  educa- 
tion we  give  to  the  many,  if  simple  should  be  thorough. 
It  is  a  truism  in  education,  that  the  teacher  must  in  actual 
knowledge  be  far  in  advance  of  his  pupil  and  must  have 
had  a  special  training  in  teaching  methods.  This  can 
only  be  given  in  an  institute  devoted  to  this  work.  For 
those  who  are  specially  gifted  training  should  be  possible 
as  doctors,  nurses,  and  teachers  of  practical  subjects  such 
as  agriculture,  stock  raising,  and  handicrafts,  with  the  object 
of  finally  settling  them  among  the  native  population. 
And  I  think  the  sons  of  chiefs  should  be  specially  in- 
structed in  their  duties.  I  would  not  give  the  higher 
education  or  advanced  technical  training  to  any  unless 
they  were  going  to  undertake  work  among  and  to  help 
upward  their  own  people.  To  give  a  native  youth  the 
higher  education  imparted  say  at  our  secondary  schools, 
to  compete  in  the  colonial  world  with  European  youths 
in  clerical  and  literary  callings,  to  give  him  tastes  he 
cannot  satisfy,  ambitions  that  must  cause  intense  pain  be- 
fore they  die,  is  cruelty  indeed.  It  is  the  more  incumbent 
upon  us  to  give  an  opportunity  for  educating  those  who 
are,  in  turn,  to  educate  their  own  people,  as  hundreds  have 
left,  and  more  are  leaving  annually,  for  the  United  States 
of  America,  where  they  can  obtain  what  is  denied  in  their 
own  country.  All  who  know  the  natives  feel  this  emigra- 
tion is  fraught  with  danger;  the  only  alternative  is  to 
make  his  own  country  more  attractive  to  him,  to  give  him 
here  the  opportunities  he  can  get  elsewhere. 

And  another  proposition — any  attempt  to  force  what 


114     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

we  consider  improvements  upon  him,  either  in  character 
or  modes  of  life,  must  be  avoided.  A  more  difficult 
creature  to  force  along  unfamiliar  paths  than  the  native, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  find.  Open  opposition  would 
not  be  apparent,  but  apathy  and  indifference  would  be 
manifest.  Sometimes,  more  aggravating  still,  eye  and  lip 
service  would  be  given,  while  behind  the  back  of  the 
would-be  benefactor  every  wile  would  be  adopted  to  pre- 
vent realization.  We  must  sometimes  wait  until  the  shoe 
pinches.  Once  the  native  really  wants  a  thing,  the  effort 
he  will  make  and  the  self-denial  to  which  he  will  submit 
in  order  to  obtain  it  are  astonishing,  equally  so  the  dead 
weight  with  which  he  can  oppose.  At  the  present  time, 
there  is  a  widespread  and  keen  desire  for  the  ordinary 
school  education,  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  is  a  very 
common  ambition,  and  many  are  willing  to  make  great 
efforts,  and  exercise  considerable  self-denial,  in  order  to 
obtain  this  measure  of  advancement.  But  we  must  not 
make  it  too  cheap  and  force  it  on  the  unwilling  for  their 
good.  Object  lessons  of  the  benefits  derived  from  attain- 
ment will  achieve  far  more  than  compulsion.  And  it 
should  not  be  gratuitous, — to  pay  for  benefits  received 
will  tend  to  make  them  appreciate  them,  be  a  factor  in 
character  building  and  incite  to  effort. 

The  Natal  Native  Commission  strongly  urged  that 
greater  facilities  be  given  for  primary  education,  and  that 
a  beginning  should  be  made  in  teaching  agriculture,  and 
some  instruction  given  in  handicrafts ;  but  such  teaching 
should  not  go  beyond  the  present  needs  of  the  natives. 
They  did  not  go  into  details,  and  in  regard  to  literary 
education  I  feel  some  hesitation  in  making  suggestions. 
With  diffidence  I  say  it,  but  if  the  first  object  of  the  educa- 
tion we  propose  to  give  is  to  prepare  them  in  some  measure 
for  the  inevitable  changes  in  their  environment,  and  to 
replace  the  lost  interest  and  hope  in  life,  some  modifi- 
cation of  the  existing  system  is  needed.  Far  too  much  is 
it  simply  a  replica  of  what  is  taught  in  European  schools, 
and  it  is  in  many  ways  quite  unsuited  to  their  real  require- 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  115 

ments  and  what  we  should  aim  at.  Reading  and  writing 
must  be  its  foundation,  but  after  that,  what  will  really 
interest  the  pupils,  be  of  service  in  their  lives,  and  help 
to  form  a  stable  and  good  character,  is  the  ideal. 

A  man  who  has  lived  all  his  life  in  close  touch  with 
the  natives  once  gave  to  m.e  his  opinion,  that  in  any  policy 
we  adopt  no  step  should  be  taken  that  could  not  be  with- 
drawn or  modified,  if  necessary.  His  experience  had 
shown  him  that  to  be  constantly  changing  our  methods, 
to  appear  vacillating,  was  bad,  indeed  fatal,  but  he  also 
felt  that  we  knew  so  little  and  our  work  was  so  much  in  the 
nature  of  experiment,  that  it  was  wisdom  not  to  commit 
ourselves  once  and  for  all  to  any  plan  of  campaign,  but, 
if  an  experiment  did  not  realize  our  expectations,  be  free 
to  change  it  without  shattering  the  structure.  Slavishly 
following  a  curriculum  more  or  less  suited  to  Europeans, 
will  not  give  us  the  results  we  desire,  scientific  methods 
must  be  adopted  to  discover  the  best  means  to  our  end. 
Advantage  should  be  taken  of  their  natural  gifts,  and 
certain  educative  forces,  now  present  in  their  lives,  should 
be  utilized  and  built  upon.  The  gift  of  language,  the 
love  of  music,  a  certain  deftness  which  enables  them  to 
make  beautiful  basket  and  grasswork — all  these  should  be 
brought  into  operation.  Regular  and  accurate  obser- 
vation should  be  made  by  those  engaged  in  the  work,  and 
the  fullest  records  kept,  and  this  should  also  apply  to 
the  life,  conduct,  and  career  of  the  pupils  after  they  have 
left  the  teacher  and  gone  out  into  the  world.  We  have 
had  too  much  of  blind  copying  of  older-established 
methods ;  we  want  a  new  departure  based  on  accurate 
observation,  and  scientific  methods  applied  to  this  im- 
portant work. 

The  native  is,  surely,  the  worst  cultivator  of  the  soil  in 
the  world — if  there  is  a  worse  I  do  not  know  him  ;  but 
with  this  goes  a  deep-seated  attachment  to  the  land. 
Those  who  have  the  training  of  the  young  natives  should 
take  advantage  of  this  attachment  to  instruct  them  in 
better  methods  of  agriculture,  the  improvement  of  stock, 

8  * 


ii6     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  cultivation  of  new  crops,  especially  such  as  may  be 
exported.  During  the  last  two  or  three  years  a  certain 
quantity  of  maize  (mealies)  grown  by  natives  has  doubt- 
less been  bought  up  by  storekeepers  and  dealers,  and 
shipped  to  Europe ;  but,  prior  to  that  time,  I  think  I  may 
say  that  the  million  natives  of  Natal  and  Zululand,  the 
whole  of  whom  were  living  on  and  tilling  the  land  in  some 
fashion,  did  not  produce  a  single  exportable  article  except 
the  hides  of  their  cattle.  More  was  certainly  done  by 
the  Basuto  and  the  Transkeian  natives,  but  everywhere 
is  room  for  improvement,  though  Natal  and,  say  Swazi- 
land, are  probably  the  most  backward  in  this  respect.  I 
feel  so  strongly  on  this  question  of  the  improvement  of 
agriculture  and  agricultural  education,  that  what  I  here 
say  will  doubtless  be  reiterated  in  the  discussion  both 
of  the  land  and  labour  questions,  and  in  the  other 
chapters  of  this  book.  It  touches  the  native  and  his  future 
so  closely  that  I  risk  recapitulation  lest  I  should  not 
sufficiently  emphasize  its  importance. 

(a)  On  the  land  the  native  lives  in  his  ancestors,  he 
wants  no  other  life ;  and  though  there  may  not  be  room 
for  all,  and  many  must  seek  labour  and  subsistence  else- 
where, the  roots  and  home-springs  of  the  people  should 
be  in  the  land,  possession  should  be  made  easy  and 
encouraged,  divorce  and  desertion  difficult ;  the  future  of 
the  race,  all  it  has  of  value,  largely  depends  on  this  con- 
nection being  conserved. 

(b)  At  present  the  land  cannot  carry  more  because  it 
is  not  utilized  to  its  full  capacity  ;  properly  cultivated,  one 
acre  could  grow  what  three  do  now,  and  a  proportionately 
larger  population  live  on  the  same  ground. 

(c)  We  cannot  make  a  mistake  here.  In  dealing  with 
a  race  so  dissimilar  doubts  may  well  arise  as  to  whether 
our  methods  of  government,  administration,  education, 
are  on  lines  really  suited  to  the  temperament  of  the 
people ;  here  there  cannot,  surely,  be  room  for  doubt. 

(d)  If  there  is'something  which  is  likely  to  give  whole- 
some and  salutary  hope  to  this  people,  it  is  the  perennial 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  117 

interest  of  improving  the  land  and  its  products,  and  hope 
and  interest  is  what  is  now  lacking. 

It  is  very  little  use  trying  to  move  the  adult  native. 
This  conservatism  is  ingrained  and  part  of  the  fibre  of 
his  nature.  All  that  can  be  expected  of  them  is  not  to 
put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  improvement  of  the  young 
people.  Agriculture  is  universally  practised,  and  though 
the  practice  is  most  primitive,  the  calling  is  eminently 
suited  to  the  genius  of  the  race.  And  at  present  agricul- 
tural education  is  less  likely  to  cause  opposition,  and 
friction  between  black  and  white,  or  overlapping  of  their 
spheres  of  activity,  than  either  of  the  other  great  branches 
of  instruction,  the  literary  or  the  industrial. 

I  would  take  advantage  of  the  present  mission  organ- 
izations to  form  small  schools  of  agriculture.  Most  of 
the  missionary  bodies  would  be  willing  and  glad  to  give 
the  benefit  of  their  institutions  if  competent  and  respon- 
sible instructors  were  appointed,  and  adequate  grants 
given  by  Government.  It  should  not  be  difficult  to 
arrange  a  working  plan  by  which  advantage  could  be 
taken  of  missionary  effort  and  at  the  same  time  a  sound 
grounding  in  agriculture  be  imparted.  Inspectors,  of 
course,  would  be  appointed  who  should  be  satisfied  that 
the  work  was  on  right  lines  before  the  grant  was  given. 
In  time,  special  Government  institutions  might  be  opened, 
but  I  must  confess  I  foresee  a  difficulty.  I  believe  with 
the  South  African  Commission  that  "regular  moral  and 
religious  instruction  should  be  given  in  all  native 
schools ".  A  secular  establishment  devoting  all  the 
school  time  to  instruction  in  agriculture  or  cognate  sub- 
jects would  fail  in  this  most  important  particular.  The 
question  from  this  point  of  view  would  require  close 
attention,  before  such  institutions  were  started.  Mean- 
time, for  this  reason  and  for  others,  a  beginning  might 
be  made  in  co-operation  with  those  who  could  undertake 
the  secular  instruction,  and  include  the  teaching  recom- 
mended by  the  South  African  Commission. 

To  those  who  predict    nothing  but    failure   I    would 


1 18     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

give  an  instance  of  the  spirit  ruling  some  Governments  in 
the  past,  and  ask  whether  it  was  possible  that  any  advance 
could  be  made  when  the  rulers  displayed  such  an  utter 
lack  of  interest  in  the  betterment  of  their  wards,  such  an 
inadequate  realization  of  their  responsibilites  to  them. 
And  it  must  be  remembered  that  to  the  native,  who  looks 
to  the  authorities  for  a  guide  to  conduct,  and  under 
normal  conditions  always  desires  to  please,  such  indiffer- 
ence amounts  to  condemnation.  The  Rev.  John  Dube,  a 
native  of  the  Inanda  district  in  Natal,  started  a  school 
intended  to  teach  handicrafts  and  agriculture.  The 
monetary  support  necessary  he  sought  in  America,  where 
he  had  been  educated,  and  he  succeeded  in  raising  a 
sufficient  amount  after  a  special  visit  to  that  country. 
In  face  of  many  difficulties,  he  kept  the  school  going,  and 
at  the  same  time  edited,  printed,  and  issued  a  native 
paper.  The  Government  of  the  day  entirely  ignored  him 
and  his  work,  and  though  repeated  representations  were 
made  by  Europeans  who  knew  Mr.  Dube  and  his  enter- 
prise and  aspirations,  would  not  give  a  grant  in  aid  or  in 
any  way  recognize  what  he  was  doing.  Surely,  if  only 
for  the  sake  of  policy,  to  acquaint  the  administration  with 
what  was  moving  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  they  should 
have  taken  an  interest  in  the  movement.  But  only  when 
Sir  Matthew  Nathan  came  to  Natal,  as  Governor  and 
Supreme  Chief  of  the  natives,  did  Mr.  Dube  obtain  any 
recognition.  Sir  Matthew  opened  a  new  school,  built  by 
funds  subscribed  in  America,  and  thus  showed  the  people 
that  those  placed  over  them  did  take  an  interest  in  their 
efforts  and  welfare.  This  incident  sufficiently  indicates 
the  old  spirit.  Was  any  advance  possible  under  it? 
Who  can  say  what  may  not  be  possible  if  the  rulers  are 
inspired  by  the  new  ? 

Resident  supervisors,  speaking  the  language  and  of 
unimpeachable  character,  should  be  appointed  in  the 
locations,  and  one  of  their  principal  duties  should  be  to 
teach  and  encourage  better  methods  of  agriculture.  I  do 
not  advocate  expensive  farm  schools  or  colleges.     Any 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  119 

necessary  buildings  could  be  erected  with  local  materials, 
and  for  a  time  but  few  buildings  of  any  kind  would  be 
required, — example  and  tactful  encouragement  would  be 
the  wisest  methods  in  the  initial  stages ;  the  home  and 
surroundings  of  the  supervisor  should  be  an  object  lesson. 
Small  agricultural  shows  might  be  held,  and  reward 
and  recognition  given  to  those  who  were  making  an 
effort,  prizes  given  for  the  best  crops  and  stock.  New 
crops  should  be  gradually  introduced,  especially  such  as 
commanded  a  ready  sale  for  cash  and  could  be  exported. 
Such  crops  as  cotton  are  in  my  mind.  Hitherto,  with 
the  exception  of  his  mealies,  the  native  has  not  grown 
any  crops  that  commanded  a  ready  sale  at  remunerative 
prices,  and  until  lately,  when  export  fixed  a  standard 
price,  the  value  of  mealies  fluctuated  greatly,  and  the 
native  always  succeeded  in  getting  the  lowest  price.  If 
he  found  that  cotton  could  always  be  sold  at  fairly  steady 
prices,  in  the  small  quantities  he  grew,  it  would,  I  think, 
appeal  to  him.  Another  distinct  advantage  from  such  a 
crop  is  that  it  gives  employment  to  the  women  and 
children  at  the  kraals,  light  work  suitable  to  the  younger 
and  weaker  inmates.  Now  that  East  Coast  fever  has 
swept  off  the  cattle,  fewer  boys  are  required  as  herds,  and 
it  would  be  well  if  the  girls  had  employment  of  a  kind 
which  would,  in  greater  measure,  reward  the  more  in- 
dustrious. Carrying  firewood  and  water  are  excellent  as 
exercise,  but  it  is  not  exhilarating  nor  remunerative.  A 
larger  quantity  of  cotton  to  sell  would  mean  the  possi- 
bility of  acquiring  many  desired  or  desirable  things. 
With  many  of  the  men  away  from  home  at  labour  centres, 
the  women  and  girls  are  left  more  or  less  idle,  certainly 
without  much  incentive  to  useful  employment.  They, 
equally  with  the  men,  require  the  element  of  hope  and 
emulation  in  what  they  do,  and  the  cultivation  of  crops 
that  would  mean  more  than  food,  mean  the  gratification 
of  many  legitimate  desires,  would  be  of  great  benefit  in 
their  somewhat  aimless  lives. 

And,  it  must  be  remembered  that  better  utilization  of 


I20    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  land  means  more  room  for  the  people,  and  this  is  fast 
becoming  an  imperative  necessity. 

I  know  it  will  be  said,  and  by  many  who  have  lived 
amongst  the  Abantu,  that  it  is  impossible  to  induce  the 
native  to  depart  from  his  ancestral  usage  and  grow  new 
and  better  crops.  I  would  ask  what  encouragement,  at  all 
events  in  Natal,  and  many  other  parts,  he  has  ever  had  to 
do  so.  Has  any  well-thought-out  scheme  been  evolved, 
or  if  evolved  any  really  steady  and  persistent  effort  been 
made  to  make  it  a  success  ?  The  answer  must  be,  none, 
and  I  cannot  imagine  that  the  tactful,  judicious,  and  per- 
severing efforts  of  the  right  men  living  among  the  people 
will  be  for  all  time  of  non-effect.  There  will  be  disap- 
pointments many,  experiments  will  often  fail,  but  well- 
considered  and  consistent  effort  is  not  going  to  be  without 
its  reward. 

The  greater  the  result  of  missionary  teaching,  of  liter- 
ary and  agricultural  education,  the  greater  will  be  the 
need  for  industrial  training, — some  instruction  in  handi- 
crafts that  will  satisfy  the  requirements  for  better  homes, 
for  furniture,  for  carts  and  wagons,  for  implements.  We 
must  have,  among  the  people,  men  who  are  carpenters, 
blacksmiths,  masons,  wagon-builders  and  saddlers,  who 
are  competent  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  natives  as  they 
advance  in  agriculture  and  require  better  homes  and  sur- 
roundings. Here,  we  run  up  against  opposition,  many 
Europeans  are  prejudiced  against  any  such  training  for 
natives,  they  fear  competition  of  low-priced  labour  against 
which  they  or  their  children  will  stand  no  chance.  The 
objectors  to  any  industrial  training  for  natives  are  largely 
the  white  artisans.  The  objections  take  the  direct  form 
of  open  denial,  or  the  indirect  of  demanding  a  minimum 
standard  wage  for  all  skilled  work,  the  belief  being  that 
such  a  wage  would  ensure  the  employment  of  the  more 
highly  trained  and  skilled  European  in  all  cases,  and 
the  practical  boycotting  of  the  black  artisan.  One  can 
quite  understand  this  point  of  view,  and  I  am  writing 
not  on  the  native  question  alone,  but  trying  to  study  the 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  121 

relations  of  black  and  white  in  this  country,  and  this 
aspect  of  the  question  must  be  faced  and  considered. 

Many  of  those  who  oppose  industrial  training  would 
admit  that  the  native  ought  to  be  helped  and  encouraged 
to  become  a  better  agriculturist,  and  are  not  altogether 
averse  to  some  literary  education  being  afforded ;  and 
I  would  ask  these — would  you,  then,  be  willing  to  give  the 
black  man  opportunities  of  economic  betterment,  raising 
desires  for  the  comforts  and  amenities  of  a  more  civilized 
existence,  but  at  the  point  at  which  such  advancement 
seems  to  threaten  your  personal  interests,  deny  him 
further  opportunities,  and  opportunities  for  the  fulfilment 
of  desires  which  follow  naturally  upon  what  you  would 
give  ?  For  industrial  work  among  the  natives  themselves, 
for  the  building  of  their  houses,  the  repairing  of  imple- 
ments, it  is  obviously  impossible  for  them  to  pay  for 
skilled  white  labour.  The  position  would  be  an  impos- 
sible one. 

The  spectre  which  affrights  the  white  man  is  a  vision 
of  the  black  man  invading  the  towns  as  artisan,  compet- 
ing with  him,  working  for  lower  wages  at  his  side, 
bringing  down  the  standard  of  living  to  his  level.  I  do 
not  say  such  a  contingency  is  impossible  if  w^e  continue 
along  our  present  lines,  though  in  any  case  it  is  some 
distance  removed,  and  is  hardly  likely  to  be  realized  to 
the  full  extent  sometimes  depicted.  I  propose  later  to 
outline  a  policy  which  will,  I  trust,  attenuate  this  danger 
to  disappearance.  But  meanwhile,  and  leaving  that  to  its 
proper  place,  we  may  consider  the  question  as  it  stands, 
and  on  its  own  merits,  apart  from  any  policy  I  may  later 
formulate. 

The  supply  of  black  artisans  is  not  likely  to  be  more 
than  sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements  of  their  own 
people  for  many  long  years  to  come.  The  standard  of 
workmanship  demanded  among  Europeans  for  all  skilled 
work,  becomes  higher  and  higher,  and  the  attainments  of 
any  country-trained  black  artisan  will  probably  never  rise 
to   that  standard.      The   demand  of  the   black  man  for 


122     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

better  material  conditions,  contingent  on  his  deserving 
and  earning  them,  and  the  possible  problems  likely  to 
arise  out  of  that  demand,  are  surely  not  going  to  make  us 
forget  all  our  obligations  and  responsibilities  to  him,  and 
for  all  time  deny  him  the  opportunities  we  claim  for  our- 
selves and  conceive  to  be  our  birthright  ?  And  have  v^e 
so  lost  the  self-reliance  of  the  race  that  with  the  advan- 
tages of  race,  heredity,  better  environment,  better  training, 
we  are  going  to  protect  ourselves  by  refusing  to  give  just 
treatment  to  others  ?  Again  I  would  ask  the  objectors, 
what  would  you  ?  Probably  the  answer  would  be  : 
Leave  them  to  themselves  and  let  them  evolve  themselves, 
but  do  not  help,  implying  a  continuation  of  the  present 
state  of  affairs.  Bring  disintegration  and  chaos  into  the 
life  of  a  people,  utterly  bewilder  them  with  your  involved 
methods  of  life,  teach  them  the  worst  that  is  in  us,  and 
then  demand  perfect  conduct  and  accord  with  our  ideas 
from  a  people  kept  down  on  a  permanently  lower  plane  ? 
Destroy  their  social  system  and  then  refuse  them  any  of 
the  benefits  of  ours  ?  To  the  general  question  of  the 
economic  position  of  our  race  to  the  Abantu  I  will 
come  later,  but  meantime,  will  so  far  anticipate  as  to  say 
that  infinitely  worse  will  happen  to  our  race  by  such  pro- 
tection than  by  manfully  undertaking  our  full  responsibil- 
ities. Beset  with  difficulties  is  our  path  ;  the  very  highest 
that  is  in  us  will  be  demanded  and  we  may  emerge,  but 
no  emergence  is  possible  for  any  race  that  demanded,  in 
perpetuity,  the  ease  and  leisure  given  by  the  withdrawing 
of  all  reasonable  opportunities  to  a  subject  race.  Thus 
to  the  root  and  branch  objectors. 

I  have  admitted  that  although  the  dangers  foreseen 
and  feared  are  exaggerated,  they  may,  in  part  and  in  years 
to  come,  be  realized ;  the  trained  black  man  may  make  life 
more  difficult  for  the  white  worker  in  trades  and  handi- 
crafts. I  have  argued  that  even  so,  it  is  unworthy  our 
race  to  deny  reasonable  opportunity  to  rise,  to  those  who 
may  possibly,  in  the  future,  be  competitors.  All  these  argu- 
ments and  the  questions  I  have  put  may  seem  academic 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  123 

and  little  to  the  real  purpose  to  the  man  who  feels  that 
his  livelihood  or  that  of  his  children  may  be  jeopardized, 
and  his  simple  and  not  ineffective  reply  is,  self-preserva- 
tion is  the  first  law  of  nature.  Higher  laws  demand  our 
fidelity,  but  it  is  a  heavy  claim  to  make  on  the  altruism 
of  the  man,  who,  rightly  or  wrongly,  is  persuaded  that  his 
children  will  suffer  if  he  obeys  their  behests.  It  would  be 
with  more  tenderness  that  I  pressed  my  point  and  advo- 
cated the  claims  of  the  black  man  to  industrial  advance- 
ment, did  I  not  feel  that  this  practical  objection  of  the  man 
who  thinks  he  will  suffer  can  be  met.  The  reason  advanced 
by  this  objector  is  one  of  many,  some  of  which  I  regard  as 
of  even  greater  weight  and  deeper  import,  which  makes 
me  suggest  and  press  home  the  policy  to  be  outlined  later. 
And  I  hope  it  will,  not  only  go  far  to  prevent  the  economic 
disaster  dreaded  by  the  opponent  of  industrial  training, 
but  prevent  or  minimize  deeper-seated  disaster,  which  I 
foresee  and  deal  with  in  a  later  stage  of  the  argument. 

Men  who  are  familiar  with  what  has  been  done  in  the 
Transkeian  territories  to  raise  the  people  in  the  arts  of  life 
along  the  general  lines  advocated  in  this  chapter,  may  ob- 
ject that  my  note  should  have  been  pitched  in  a  higher  key, 
that  much  more  than  I  have  indicated  as  necessary  for  the 
mass  of  the  Abantu  has  been  done  there,  and  the  results 
have  been  amply  justified.  Outside  the  territories,  there 
are  comparatively  few  Europeans  who  are  fully  acquainted 
with  the  position  there,  and  to  strengthen  the  argument 
for  the  adoption  of  a  more  liberal  educational  policy  else- 
where I  here  make  a  brief  recital,  promising  that  I  will 
deal  at  greater  length  with  the  general  position  there  in  a 
subsequent  chapter. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  country  between  the  Kei  and 
Umzimkulu  rivers  is  native  territory,  partly  still  held  under 
the  old  communal  tenure,  partly  converted  into  individual 
titles  to  the  land.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  magistrates 
the  natives  have  the  government  of  the  territories  largely 
in  their  own  hands.  There  are  district  councils  to  deal 
with  local  affairs  of  which  the  magistrate  is  chairman,  and 


124     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

a  general  council,  which  meets  once  a  year  presided  over 
by  the  chief  magistrate ;  both  educated  and  raw  natives 
sit  as  members  of  these  councils.  They  levy  taxes  on 
themselves  for  all  local  purposes — roads,  bridges,  pounds, 
and  especially  for  general  industrial  and  agricultural  educa- 
tion and  improvement.  Experimental  farms  are  estab- 
lished, agricultural  shows  are  held,  improved  stock  is 
bought  and  imported,  tree  planting  is  encouraged.  To  an 
extent  unknown  elsewhere,  education  is  general  and  ad- 
vancing, and  there  are  institutions  for  training  teachers 
and  for  industrial  work, — all  these  with  the  support, 
and  under  the  control,  of  the  General  Council.  Every 
encouragement  is  given  to  the  natives  to  take  a  real  in- 
terest in  and  be  responsible  for  their  own  affairs,  the 
white  official  guiding  and  advising.  The  annual  report  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  General  Council,  with  its  estimates  of 
revenue  and  expenditure,  proceedings  in  which  the  natives 
took  the  greater  part,  would  come  as  a  revelation  to 
Europeans  who  only  knew  the  native  administration  and 
the  Abantu  elsewhere  in  South  East  Africa.  It  was 
estimated  that  during  1910-1 1  nearly  ^^'80,000  would  be  ex- 
pended in  the  Transkei  on  various  works  of  public  utility. 
Of  this  sum  nearly  ;^20,ooo  was  to  be  spent  on  education, 
;^ 1 6,000  devoted  to  agriculture  and  industries,  ;^34,ooo  in 
public  works,  including  ^5000  for  dipping  tanks  for  sheep 
and  cattle.  Included  in  the  vote  for  agriculture  was  ^3600 
for  forest  conservation  and  tree  planting.  All  valuable  in 
themselves,  and  of  a  much  greater  value  if  we  keep  ever 
before  us  the  position  of  these  people.  The  old  activities 
passing  or  disallowed,  we  want  to  give  them  hope  and 
interest  in  their  lives,  something  to  live  for ;  the  alteration, 
too  often  deterioration,  in  their  character,  due  to  their 
changed  environment,  we  must  provide  for  by  character- 
building.  We  have  nothing  better  to  offer  and  yet  leave 
scope  for  their  own  race  development  than  what  I  suggest, 
which  follows  the  general  trend  of  the  policy  inaugurated 
and  carried  on  in  the  Transkei  by  successive  Govern- 
ments of  the  Cape  Colony.     My  object  here  is   to   try 


MISSIONS  AND  EDUCATION  125 

to  bring  home  to  those  living  among  an  immense  native 
population,  as  in  Natal,  where  so  little  has  been  done, 
the  absolute  necessity  of  a  beginning  being  made. 

I  do  not  want  to  deceive  myself.  The  prophet,  in  a 
matter  of  such  complexity  as  this  sociological  question, 
will  often  find  he  has  overlooked  some  phase  of  the  prob- 
lem, which  will  give  rise  to  efifects  and  complications 
never  anticipated.  The  wisest  system  of  education,  ad- 
ministered never  so  judiciously,  will  not  solve  the  problem 
of  black  and  white.  The  races  will  still  touch,  probably 
at  different  points  and  on  another  plane,  fresh  sub-prob- 
lems will  arise,  will  get  acute,  which  must  be  met  by  re- 
search and  thinking  on  different  lines.  What  is  advocated 
is  a  working  theory  for  to-day  :  we  watch,  willing  to  modify 
in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  to-morrow. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN. 

"The  native  question  is  the  land  question."  So  said  an 
observant  and  thoughtful  colonist  with  a  wide  experience. 
Looking  back  for  thirty-five  years,  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
conditions  have  altered  in  respect  of  the  land,  and  how 
intimately  and  vitally  the  native  has  been  affected  thereby. 
In  the  early  days  of  South  East  Africa — and  I  speak  more 
particularly  of  Natal  proper,  there  was  abundance  of  land 
and  wide  scope  for  black  and  white  alike. 

In  those  days  it  was  the  common  phrase  among 
colonists  in  speaking  of  the  natives  to  say  that  no  people 
on  earth  were  so  well  off  or  so  happy.  Cattle  in  abund- 
ance, hill  and  dale  on  which  to  graze,  the  choice  of  the 
land  for  their  gardens,  wants  that  a  few  days'  labour  would 
supply.  The  attention  of  the  newcomer  was  directed  to 
the  files  of  comely  girls  and  stalwart  young  men  going  to 
dance  or  festival,  singing  as  they  went ;  to  the  abundance 
of  food  and  beer ;  to  the  wealth  in  stock  and  the  ample 
leisure  the  Abantu  had  in  which  to  enjoy  it  all.  These 
early  years  of  the  white  man's  Government  were  idyllic 
days  for  the  black  man ;  his  old  life  was  not  interfered 
with,  most  of  his  old  interests  remained,  his  pleasurable 
activities  were  not  curtailed,  he  dwelt  in  security,  and  had, 
what  is  essential  to  ensure  these  happy  results,  the  full 
use  of  broad  lands  for  pasture  and  cultivation.  It  is 
significant  that  this  form  of  address,  this  statement  of 
fact,  is  seldom  heard  in  these  later  days;  the  least  ob- 
servant of  Europeans  feels  that  a  change  has  come  over 
the  life  of  the  Abantu  since  that  time.  Now  one  hears 
more  of  their  laziness,  their  disregard  of  contracts  and 

126 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  127 

obligations,  the  best  methods  of  inducing  or  compelling 
them  to  furnish  reliable  and  continuous  labour  ;  but  little 
of  their  happiness,  little  of  the  content  which,  in  the  past 
days,  was  generally  admitted  filled  their  lives. 

When  the  Dutch  farmers  came  over  the  Drakensberg, 
and  when  the  conflicts  with  Dingaan  and  the  Zulus  were 
past  and  they  could  live  in  security,  they  spread  over  the 
uplands  and  midlands  of  Natal,  each  taking  up  a  farm  of 
six  to  eight  thousand  acres,  often  isolated,  with  great  spaces 
of  open  country  between  neighbours.  The  natives  were 
comparatively  few,  they  had  not  increased  as  now,  there 
was  room  for  all.  Many  came  under  the  protection  of  the 
farmers,  got  permission  to  build  their  kraals  on  the  unen- 
closed farms,  and  gave  intermittent  and  not  too  arduous 
labour  in  return  for  the  privilege.  The  association  was  of 
a  patriarchal  nature  ;  the  white  man  only  cultivated  for  his 
personal  wants ;  his  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  lived  on  the 
natural  and  abundant  pastures  and  only  required  herding. 
The  native  was  allowed  to  pick  his  gardens  where  he 
listed,  and  run  his  stock  either  with  those  of  his  master  or 
on  the  wide  spaces  of  the  unenclosed  veldt.  No  rent  was 
paid  or  wages  given,  and  to  both  the  arrangement  was 
mutually  satisfactory,  and  was  in  entire  harmony  with 
their  conception  of  life. 

Then  came  the  Briton,  and  under  the  securit}'  of 
the  Pax  Britannica  came  many  native  immigrants  from 
Zululand  and  elsewhere  beyond  the  borders,  and  those 
already  in  the  land  increased  vastly.  Still  there  was 
room  and  food  in  abundance  for  all.  The  early  Briton 
lived  as  did  his  Boer  neighbour ;  the  free  life  with  few 
wants  and  ambitions  appealed  to  the  pioneer  class,  and 
his  relations  to  his  native  tenants  and  neighbours  re- 
mained much  the  same,  and  satisfied  both.  If,  for  any 
reason,  black  or  white  were  dissatisfied  and  relations 
became  strained,  it  was  always  open  to  the  former  to 
quit  the  farm  and  live  in  one  of  the  locations  reserved 
for  the  natives,  or  go  into  unoccupied  Crown  lands  of 
which  there  were  huge  areas  in  a  state  of  Nature,  and 


128     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

there  he  could  squat,  a  paternal  Government  charging  no 
rent. 

The  position  was  idyllic,  and  had  it  so  remained  there 
would  have  been  no  native  problem  as  we  know  it  to-day. 
But  the  white  man  as  well  as  the  native  increased  in  the 
land.  New  comers  arrived  from  over-sea  inspired  with 
new  ideas  foreign  to  those  held  by  the  old  settlers.  The 
easy-going  methods  of  the  latter  were  arraigned  and  con- 
demned. The  apostles  of  progress  demanded  that  fuller 
use  be  made  of  the  fertile  land,  that  ground  simply  used 
for  grazing  should  be  broken  up  and  cultivated,  and  varied 
crops  grown  for  market.  They  scouted  the  uneconomic 
but  pleasant  practice  of  trekking  from  summer  to  winter 
veldt,  and  advocated  that  men  should  remain  all  the  year 
round  on  their  farms,  growing  winter  food  for  their  stock, 
and  utilizing  the  whole  according  to  modern  ideas  in 
vogue  elsewhere.  Land-hunger  swept  over  the  country, 
and  Government  was  pressed  to  throw  open  the  Crown 
lands  to  survey  and  allotment  for  whites,  and  charge  a 
rent  to  the  natives  remaining  on  the  unappropriated 
balance,  the  demand  being  that,  finally,  all  should  pass  into 
the  private  possession  of  the  white  man,  and  the  native 
lands  confined  to  those  already  allotted  as  locations.  The 
men  who  lived  in  the  old  way  were  denounced  as  being 
backward  and  unprogressive,  and  comparisons  were 
constantly  made  to  their  disadvantage,  with  those  who 
held  the  land  in  more  progressive  countries.  As  might  be 
expected,  the  new  ideas  prevailed,  fences  enclosed  the  wide 
open  country,  grazing  areas  came  under  the  plough, 
many  new  crops  demanding  much  labour,  such  as  wattles, 
were  planted,  improved  stock  was  imported,  and  the 
Crown  lands  given  out  as  private  farms,  all  profoundly 
altering  the  position  of  the  native  on  the  land. 

Instead  of  having  the  run  of  the  farm  for  his  cattle 
and  goats  he  was  fenced  into  the  least  valuable  portion ; 
his  garden  ground  was  limited  and  allotted  to  him  ;  in  place 
of  the  old  patriarchal  relations  in  which  no  cash  passed,  a 
heifer  or  a  few  goats  being  recognition  of  his  services,  he 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  129 

was  charged  rent,  and  a  money  payment  given  for  his 
labour.  Failing  fulfilment  of  his  contract  the  law  inter- 
posed and  he  was  evicted.  The  change  came  gradually, 
he  generally  had  some  time  in  which  to  adjust  himself  to 
the  new  conditions,  and  not  seldom  the  white  man,  under- 
standing the  native,  and  recognizing  the  hardship  in- 
volved, endeavoured  to  make  the  change  as  easy  as 
possible,  but  it  was  inexorable,  pressing  his  life  into  an- 
other shape  as  would  a  vice.  And  as  the  years  went  by 
the  progress  was  accelerated.  The  new  ideas  caught  on 
and  the  white  man,  stirred  by  the  racial  instinct  for  de- 
velopment and  economic  progress,  and  fanned  by  emula- 
tion, made  it  the  guiding  principle  of  his  life,  and  the 
native,  at  a  loss  to  comprehend,  was  rushed  along,  vainly 
attempting  to  adjust  himself  as  the  resistless  whirl  carried 
him  along  with  it. 

And  this,  then,  is  the  position  to-day,  but  we  will  now 
have  to  describe  it  in  some  detail.  It  will  be  as  well  to 
say  that  the  position  as  outlined  in  Natal  applies,  with 
minor  differences,  to  East  Griqualand,  the  settled  portions 
of  Zululand,  and  the  Eastern  Transvaal.  It  will  not  be 
necessary  to  indicate  these  distinctions,  the  position  as  it 
is  in  Natal  is  sufficiently  illustrative  of  the  principles  and 
powers  at  work,  as  far  as  the  ethnic  side  of  the  question 
is  concerned. 

In  Natal  there  are  set  aside  for  the  sole  use  of  the 
natives  42  areas  totalling  in  all  2,192,568  acres  of  land, 
which  form  the  native  locations,  and  which  are  vested  in 
and  under  the  management  of  the  Natal  Native  Trust, 
which  consists  of  the  Ministry  of  the  day.  The  greater 
portion  of  this  considerable  area  is  situated  not  far  from 
the  coast,  and  largely  consists  of  the  river  valleys,  pictur- 
esque and  broken,  but  not  containing  a  large  proportion 
of  fertile  land.  In  these  lower  locations  woolled  sheep 
and  horses  do  not  thrive,  but  cattle  and  native  goats  do 
fairly  well.  Some  of  the  up  country  locations  are  of 
greater  average  value,  and  are  excellent  for  all  kinds  of 
stock,  with  good  areas  of  arable  land  of  medium  quality. 

9 


130    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Living  on  the  locations  are,  approximately,  230,000  natives 
out  of  a  total  native  population  of  770,000  for  Natal 
proper,  who  occupy  18,122  kraals  as  against  47,869  on 
private  lands,  3078  on  Mission  reserves,  and  1018  on  un- 
allotted Crown  lands.  The  natives  occupying  the  loca- 
tions are  not  called  upon  to  pay  any  rent,  but  must,  in 
common  with  natives  living  elsewhere,  pay  an  annual 
hut  tax  of  14s.,  which  is,  of  course,  paid  by  the  married 
men,  and  in  the  case  of  the  unmarried  a  poll  tax  of  one 
pound  is  imposed.  These  location  natives,  though  free 
from  a  rent  charge,  are  liable  to  be  called  out  at  any  time 
by  Government  to  work  on  the  roads  of  the  Colony. 
Although  paid  for  this  work  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  per 
month  and  food  (mealie  meal),  this  forced  labour  is 
utterly  distasteful  to  them,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but 
that  many  natives  prefer  to  live  on  private  farms  paying 
high  rents  rather  than  go  into  the  locations,  simply  be- 
cause by  residing  on  the  former  they  are  free  from  this 
liability  to  render  compulsory  service. 

Going  through  a  location,  one  will  see  but  little  change 
in  the  mode  of  living  of  the  inhabitants  or  the  aspect  of 
the  country  from  year  to  year.  Looking  back  and  mak- 
ing comparisons  between  to-day  and,  say  thirty  years 
ago,  one  finds  in  the  aggregate  a  very  considerable  change 
in  many  minor  matters,  and  one  which  is  momentous. 
Clothing  is  more  generally  worn,  especially  among  the 
men,  the  plough  has  superseded  the  hoe  and  pick  except  for 
weeding,  there  are  more  square  houses  in  many  localities 
than  was  the  case  in  the  earlier  days.  These  are  signs, 
but  the  momentous  change  is  the  increase  of  population, 
and  the  fact  that  the  natural  grass  lands  and  bush  are 
being  more  and  more  eaten  into  for  cultivation,  and  there 
are  many  more  patches  than  of  old  lying  weed-covered 
and  for  the  time  worn  out.  The  natives  themselves 
regard  the  locations  as  full  to  overflowing,  and  constantly 
ask  the  authorities  what  is  to  become  of  them  and  where 
they  are  to  go. 

Remember,  the  tribal  native  regards  himself  as  the 


LAND--THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN     131 

Government's  man,  the  authorities  have  the  right  to  de- 
mand his  service  in  war,  and  fealty  and  support  at  all 
times,  but  in  return  it  is  the  duty  of  Government  to  find 
him  a  place  on  which  to  live  and  sufficient  to  the  require- 
ments of  himself  and  dependants.  He  does  not  want 
possession  in  the  sense  of  freehold  title ;  the  tribal  native 
does  not  understand  a  man  having  absolute  possession  for 
all  time,  against  all  comers.  The  land  belongs  to  the 
tribe  and  a  man  of  the  tribe  is  entitled  to  his  place  in 
which  he  shall  be  undisturbed,  so  long  as  he  requires  it 
and  fulfils  his  tribal  duties.  If  the  community  becomes 
straitened,  then  it  behoves  those  in  authority  to  devise 
means  whereby  the  necessary  land  shall  become  avail- 
able, to  frame  a  policy  which  probably  means  war  on  a 
neighbouring  people  which  shall  give  the  tribe  what  it 
requires.  And  now  he  says  our  place  is  crowded  and 
Government  is  not  carrying  out  its  obligation  of  finding 
land  for  its  people. 

From  the  native  point  of  view,  the  locations  are  over- 
crowded, for,  taking,  into  account  their  great  natural 
ability,  the  Abantu  are  probably  the  worst  agriculturists 
and  most  wasteful  occupiers  of  land  in  the  world.  Look- 
ing down  from  the  high  tablelands  ending  in  precipitous 
krantzes  bounding  the  broken  river  valleys  which  so 
often  form  the  locations,  of  which  the  upper  portion  of 
the  Umkomanzi  is  a  good  example,  one  can  see  the  native 
homes  and  cultivation  spread  as  a  map  before  one.  In 
some  cases,  the  cultivated  patches  cover  the  whole  hill 
side,  each  garden  separated  from  the  next  by  a  narrow 
band  of  green  grass.  They  are  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  the 
straight  line  being  conspicuous  by  its  absence,  and  irregu- 
larity is  the  rule.  Examined  more  closely,  they  are  seen 
to  be  just  scratched  with  the  plough,  unmanured,  weeded  in 
slovenly  fashion,  and  yielding  scanty  and  irregular  crops. 
On  similar  land  the  European  farmer  who  has  adopted 
modern  methods  of  cultivation  and  manuring,  will  often 
reap  crops  two,  three,  or  even  four  times  as  heavy  as 
those  of  the  native.     By  the  wasteful  ancestral  methods 


132     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  land  is  soon  worked  out,  and  instead  of  reverting  to 
the  useful  grassy  pasture  it  was  before  cultivation  began, 
it  becomes  a  waste  of  weeds,  forming  a  centre  for  the 
dissemination  of  their  seeds  over  the  country  side. 
What  should,  with  better  methods,  support  a  much  larger 
population  is  insufficient  for  those  who  at  present 
occupy  it. 

In  addition  to  the  locations,  there  are  seventeen  blocks 
of  land  comprising  127,21 1  acres  of  land  originally  granted 
to  missionary  bodies  in  order  that  they  might  have  around 
their  stations  a  population  of  natives  upon  whom  to 
exercise  their  teaching.  By  agreement  with  the  mission- 
ary societies,  these  areas  have  now  also  been  vested  in  the 
Natal  Native  Trust.  As  a  rent  for  occupation  of  these 
areas  the  natives  resident  thereon  pay  a  sum  of  30s.  per 
hut  or  house,  which  amount  is  divided  between  the 
Government  and  missionary  organization  to  whom  the 
area  was  originally  granted.  Both  Government  and 
Missionaries  are  under  an  obligation  to  spend  the  whole 
money  received  in  undertakings  for  the  betterment  of  the 
natives.  A  large  portion  of  the  natives  dwelling  on 
the  Mission  reserves  are  Christians,  or  at  all  events 
have  adopted  more  or  less  civilized  modes  of  life,  but 
heathen  living  in  the  ancestral  way  are  common.  On  a 
few  reserves,  individual  title  in  freehold  has  been  granted 
to  some  natives,  but  the  great  majority  (as  is  universally 
the  case  in  locations)  have  the  use  of  such  lands  as  they 
require  on  the  communal  system. 

All  the  best  and  most  accessible  Crown  lands  of  the 
colony  have  been  acquired  by  Europeans,  and  the  large 
native  population  they  once  carried  has  been  moved 
elsewhere  or  become  tenants  to  the  owners.  The  un- 
fertile and  isolated  tracts  still  remaining  only  carry 
now  about  1000  kraals.  The  occupiers  of  these  kraals 
pay  to  Government  a  rental  of  £2  per  hut  per  annum. 
Although  natives  have  not  been  specifically  barred 
from  purchasing  Crown  lands,  during  the  whole  process 
of  alienation   they  only  acquired  a   Httk  over  200,000 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  133 

acres,  and  at  the  later  sales,  although  their  bids  were 
received,  Government  did  not  implement  the  sales. 
These  few  native  purchasers  have  found  a  difficulty,  in 
cases  in  which  the  land  was  allotted  to  them,  in  complying 
with  the  conditions  as  to  improvement,  although  these 
conditions  v/ere  not  onerous,  and  in  the  case  of  Europeans 
non-compliance  was  often  overlooked  or  waived. 

In  Natal  there  is  no  law  preventing  the  acquirement 
of  land  by  natives  by  private  purchase,  and  they  own  some 
70,000  acres  in  freehold  and  over  30,000  acres  in  quit  rent 
title.  Much  of  this  land  is  held  by  communities  of 
natives,  and  the  devolution  and  sale  of  undivided  portions 
and  other  complicated  questions  arising  from  this  method 
of  ownership,  are  likely  to  cause  much  confusion  in  the 
future. 

Nothing,  I  think,  shows  the  radical  difference  between 
the  conceptions  of  the  black  and  the  white  man  more  than 
their  respective  views  on  this  question  of  land.  The 
former  is  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  land  (this  is  the  last 
analysis  of  the  matter)  shall  belong  to  the  community,  and 
he  shall  have  the  right  of  user  at  the  pleasure  of  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  community,  the  chief.  The  white  man 
must  have  his  land  for  himself  and  his  children  for  all 
generations ;  he  has  been  offered  leases  of  ninety-nine 
years ;  for  longer  periods,  even  for  all  time,  but  only  the 
freehold,  the  right  to  have  and  to  hold  against  all  comers 
for  eternity  if  necessary  will  satisfy  him.  So,  as  he  rules, 
gradually  the  spacious  areas  held  by  the  Crown  have 
been  alienated  as  private  holdings,  until  now,  with  the 
exception  of  the  locations  and  Mission  reserves  already 
mentioned,  the  whole  of  Natal  is  held  by  Europeans,  and 
with  them  as  landlords  the  native  must  make  his  contract, 
if  he  wishes  to  live  elsewhere  than  in  a  location. 

Not  all  the  farms  in  Natal  are  occupied  and  cultivated 
by  white  men  ;  many  are  owned  by  Europeans  non-resi- 
dent in  South  Africa,  or  by  owners  who  do  not  occupy 
either  by  themselves  or  a  nominee,  and  these  farms  are 
nearly  alwa3's  filled  with  natives  paying  rents  to  the  land- 


134    BLACK  AND  WHITE  TN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

owner.  As  no  personal  service  is  required  from  the 
tenants  on  these  farms,  and  as  they  are  free  to  find  work 
at  the  most  highly  paid  centres,  the  rent  charged  is  in- 
variably high.  It  is  not,  as  in  Europe,  at  a  fixed  price 
per  acre,  the  tribal  and  communal  ideas  of  the  native 
rule  even  here,  but  at  per  hut,  and  going  with  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  hut  is  the  right  to  cultivate  for  the  sustenance 
of  the  occupants,  and  some  grazing  for  stock.  The  rent 
may  be  anything  from  £2  to  £6  or  ^7  per  hut  per 
annum,  and  in  cases  it  is  even  higher — steadily  for  years  it 
has  been  increasing.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  freedom 
from  calls  on  his  labour,  and  from  the  immediate  over- 
lordship  and  interference  of  a  white  man,  so  appeals  to 
the  native,  that  he  prefers  to  pay,  or  evade  payment,  of 
these  high  rents  rather  than  that  the  Government  should 
be  able  to  call  him  out  for  road  party  work,  or  the 
European  owner  have  claims  upon  his  time  as  on  the 
farms  on  which  white  men  live.  It  more  nearly  approxi- 
mates to  what  the  native,  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart, 
desires  above  all  else — to  be  let  alone. 

This  system  is  viewed  with  high  disfavour  by  the 
average  colonist,  whatever  his  views  may  be  on  other 
matters.  Whether  the  political  meeting  be  held  in  town 
or  country  it  is  always  safe  to  abuse  the  owners  of  these 
farms,  strangely  enough  called  non-occupied,  for  not  ful- 
filling what  are  regarded  as  the  obligations  of  ownership. 
The  larger  the  number  of  natives  who  make  their  homes 
and  earn  their  living  upon  them  the  greater  the  offence. 
The  popular  ideal  is  the  occupation  and  cultivation  b}'' 
white  men  of  all  the  lands  of  the  colony ;  if  the  black  man 
lives  upon  them,  it  must  be  as  the  servant  of  the  white 
man,  not  as  an  independent  tenant,  nor  as  an  owner  in 
his  own  right.  So  generally  and  firmly  held  is  this 
opinion,  that  when  a  Bill  was  before  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly with  purport  to  tax  the  land  other  than  that 
beneficially  occupied,  the  difficulty  of  defining  the  term 
"  beneficial  occupation  "  was  recognized  and  evaded,  with 
the  exception  of  the  clause,  that  in  any  case,  whatever 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  135 

else  it  might  or  might  not  mean,  it  was  essential  that 
"  beneficial  "  should  mean  European  occupation.  No  matter 
how  carefully  he  might  cultivate  or  utilize  the  land,  even 
to  its  utmost  capacity,  no  black  man  could,  in  the  terms  of 
this  proposed  statute,  beneficially  occupy  the  land  which 
was  regarded  as  being  the  white  man's  heritage. 

The  natives  on  the  farms  on  which  Europeans  live  are 
in  a  diflferent  position  to  those  mentioned.  Here  the 
terms  of  the  agreement  var}^  considerably  and  are  being 
gradually  tightened  up  from  the  native  point  of  view  year 
by  year.  In  some  parts  of  the  country,  principally  those 
occupied  by  the  Dutch,  Umvoti,  Vryheid,  and  Utrecht 
districts,  no  rent  is  charged  for  occupation  to  the  native, 
but  the  kraal  head  is  obliged  to  supply  girls,  boys,  and 
young  men  for  service  in  house  and  on  farm.  It  is  not 
usual  to  pay  any  wages,  at  all  events  in  cash,  but  where 
the  relations  are  amicable  and  the  farmer  is  considerate, 
a  heifer  or  other  present  in  stock  may  be  given  at  the 
end  of  the  term. 

In  other  cases  a  low  rent  is  charged,  and  when 
natives  come  out  to  work  a  low  wage  is  paid.  And 
so  it  runs ;  but  speaking  generally,  the  wages  paid  by 
the  farmer  to  those  who  live  on  his  farm,  are  much  lower 
than  the  same  native  would  earn  were  he  free  to  make  an 
independent  bargain,  even  in  similar  employment  else- 
where, and  very  much  lower  than  he  would  earn  in 
Johannesburg  or  even  Durban  or  Pietermaritzburg.  In 
ordinary  times  and  under  ordinar}^  conditions  a  native 
who  might  receive  los.  to  15s.  per  month  on  the  farm  on 
which  he  is  a  tenant  could  earn  25s.  to  35s.  in  similarly 
laborious  work  elsewhere  in  Natal,  or  50s.  to  65s.  or  even 
more,  in  highly  paid  Johannesburg. 

The  contract  between  farmer  and  native  is  very  seldom, 
one  might  say  never,  committed  to  writing.  The  native 
dislikes  written  contracts,  he  cannot  understand  them  and 
fears  they  imply  or  contain  more  than  he  is  told,  and  the 
farmer  does  not  care  to  be  explicitly  bound.  One  obligation 
is  always  understood  in  the  verbal  agreement,  viz.  that 


136    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

each  native,  not  a  kraal  head,  on  the  farm,  shall,  if  required, 
work  six  months  in  each  year.  As  a  rule  the  contract  is 
made,  according  to  native  custom,  with  the  kraal  head,  who 
makes  himself  responsible  for  the  presence  of  his  kraal 
inmates  when  required.  Before  the  young  people  tasted 
independence,  and  when  the  father's  word  was  law,  no 
difficulty  was  experienced,  but  to-day  it  is  the  fruitful 
cause  of  endless  contention.  The  European  demands 
labour  from  the  kraal  head,  the  sons  evade  the  call  or 
even  defy  the  father,  who  has  entered  into  obligations  he 
is  powerless  to  fulfil.  In  cases  the  position  becomes 
strained,  and  the  native  tenant  is  called  before  the  court 
and  evicted.  But  even  when  loyally  carried  out  by  all 
parties,  other  troubles  ensue.  In  some  cases  the  term  of 
six  months  is  worked  continuously,  and  the  European 
allows  the  native  when  the  term  is  finished,  should  he  so 
desire,  to  go  away  and  seek  work  at  a  more  highly  paid 
rate  elsewhere.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  uncommon 
for  the  landowner  to  call  up  his  tenants  at  odd  times  to 
suit  the  exigencies  of  his  work,  which  means  that  the  six 
months'  labour  is  spread  over  the  whole  year  and  the 
native  is  tied  to  the  farm  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the 
employer.  Not  that  the  native  considers  this  a  grievance, 
as  would  a  white  man.  If  he  is  not  pressed  for  money 
he  probably  prefers  it — the  easy  way  is  the  way  for  him 
— and  it  fits  in  with  his  temperament.  But  in  many 
cases  it  is  a  distinct  hardship,  and  when  he  wants  money 
to  buy  cattle  for  lobolo,  or  has  debts  to  pay,  he  feels  it 
acutely,  and  although  it  may  suit  the  ends  of  the  in- 
dividual master,  it  makes  the  native  sullen  and  a  reluctant 
worker,  and  the  State  is,  in  the  aggregate,  deprived  of  a 
very  considerable  amount  of  labour  which  would  be 
available  but  for  this  cause. 

Some  few  landowners,  disgusted  with  the  quality  of 
labour  obtained  and  the  contingent  difficulties  and  dis- 
agreements, have  made  arrangements  more  in  accord  with 
what  obtains  in  Europe  and  elsewhere  in  connection 
with  agricultural  labour  and  its  conditions.     They  only 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  137 

take  or  keep  on  the  farm  a  sufficient  number  of  families 
to  supply  the  labour  requirements  of  their  stock  and 
cultivation,  they  charge  no  rent,  but  give  sufficient  ground 
to  run  a  moderate  quantity  of  stock,  and  to  grow  enough 
food  for  the  family.  They  guarantee  work  all  the  year 
round  to  all  those  fit  to  labour  at  full  current  wages  of 
the  district.  These  are,  however,  only  few,  and  they  in 
most  cases  look  on  it  as  an  experiment,  but  an  experiment 
on  better  lines  than  the  old  system  and  one  which 
promises  better  results  in  the  future.  They  find  the 
natives  get  expert  at  their  work  and  much  more  valuable 
than  casual  labourers,  and  hope  these  good  results  will 
be  cumulative.  The  general  conditions  in  Natal 
between  landowners  and  tenants  on  occupied  farms  are, 
however,  what  has  been  previously  described  ;  these  just 
mentioned  are  the  exceptions. 

How  all  this  works  out  as  regards  labour,  the  respec- 
tive merits  and  demerits  of  the  system  and  its  modifica- 
tions, its  effect  on  the  white  landowner  and  employer, 
and  the  black  tenant  and  servant,  must  be  left  until  we 
discuss  the  sub-problem  of  Labour. 

The  collection  of  native  rents  is  nearly  always  a 
troublesome  business  to  the  landowner.  From  their 
communal  point  of  view  the  whole  system  is  artificial, 
and  contrived  by  the  white  man  for  his  own  enrichment. 
They  feel  the  Government  to  whom  the}^  belong,  and 
which  should  be  their  natural  protector,  has  left  them  to 
the  rapacity  of  those  who  are  favoured.  The  hut  tax  to 
the  Government  they  pay  readily,  it  is  their  contribution 
to  the  power  which  shields  them,  but  they  often  try  to 
evade  rents  to  private  individuals,  recognizing  no  such 
obligation  to  them.  The  rents  are  in  many  cases  exceed- 
ingly high  in  the  light  of  the  money  poverty  of  the 
natives.  Even  when  he  has  the  cash  the  native  is  in  no 
hurry  to  pay,  and  in  many  cases  he  has  not  the  where- 
withal to  pay,  and  summons  and  eviction  are  all  too 
common.  At  one  time  in  the  books  of  a  single  magistrate 
were  the  names  of  eighty  kraal  heads,  under  notice  to 


138    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

quit  their  kraal  sites,  and  no  place  could  be  found  for 
them. 

The  difficulties  of  the  land  problem  are  much  accen- 
tuated by  the  fact  that  the  Abantu  are  primarily  a 
pastoral  people.  As  they  describe  it,  cattle  is  their  money, 
and  they  invest  their  savings  and  earnings  in  live  stock  as 
the  white  man  puts  his  into  the  bank.  But  cattle-raising 
as  followed  by  the  natives  predicates  large  runs ;  no 
artificial  feeding  is  even  dreamt  of,  the  cattle  must  find 
their  own  food  in  the  natural  pastures.  The  white  man, 
who  is  trying  to  improve  his  cattle,  and  has  purchased  im- 
ported animals,  cannot  risk  his  fine-bred  stock  mixing  with 
the  low  grade  common  beasts  of  his  tenant,  nor  can  he 
afford  the  necessary  grazing  when  the  herds  of  the  latter 
increase.  So,  in  respect  to  the  chief  wealth  of  the  native, 
the  possession  he  values  beyond  all  else,  there  is,  upon 
all  the  natives  on  occupied  farms,  a  constant  pressure 
from  outside  to  prevent  accumulation,  sometimes  directly 
applied,  but  always,  and  at  best,  indirectly  felt.  The 
impecunious  native  with  labour  to  sell,  and  not  the  well- 
to-do  with  cattle  to  graze,  is  the  tenant  the  landowner 
desires.  This  factor  alone  would  have  brought — has 
even  now  brought — much  trouble  and  friction,  and  only 
the  decimation  of  the  native  herds,  first  by  rinderpest 
and  now  by  East  Coast  fever,  has  postponed  for  the 
present  a  serious  position. 

The  transfer  of  the  Crown  lands  to  private  ownership, 
and  latterly  the  purchase  of  large  tracts  from  European 
landlords,  resident  and  absentee,  for  closer  settlement  by 
whites,  have  both  aggravated  the  position.  According  to 
law  the  purchasers  in  both  cases — Crown  lands,  and  land 
for  closer  settlement — are  only  supposed  to  settle  or 
allow  to  remain  on  the  farm  purchased,  sufficient  natives 
for  bona-fide  labour  purposes.  This  regulation,  it  is  true, 
has  been  more  honoured  in  the  breach  than  in  the  obser- 
vance, but  it  has  meant,  as  a  general  rule,  more  restric- 
tion of  the  liberty  and  opportunity  of  the  black  man. 

In  the  old  days,  although  the  natives  living  on  such 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  139 

unsold  Crown  lands  were  tenants  of  the  Government, 
paying  rent  at  the  rate  of  £2  a  hut  as  well  as  the  other 
class  taxation,  they  were  never  considered  when  the  land 
changed  owners,  no  notice  was  given  by  the  authorities 
of  the  change  in  their  position  and  no  provision  was 
made  for  them  elsewhere!  They  had  to  shift  for  them- 
selves as  best  they  could  when  the  purchaser  appeared. 
One  does  not  need  a  vivid  imagination  to  picture  the 
utter  dismay  brought  to  these  people,  living  on  ground 
familiar  to  their  fathers,  on  getting  such  a  notice  without 
warning.  Just  lately,  since  attention  was  called  to  the 
matter  by  the  Native  Affairs  Commission,  it  has  received 
some  thought  from  Government,  but  they  are  placed  in  a 
dilemma  by  their  own  actions.  A  large  block  of  land  in 
the  upland  districts  has  been  bought  by  Government 
from  private  owners  for  European  closer  settlement. 
This  area  at  present  carries  a  large  native  population, 
it  is  their  ancestral  home.  Notice  has  been  served  on 
kraal  heads,  representing  five  thousand  souls,  that  the  land 
has  been  transferred  and  they  are  liable  to  eviction. 
What  will  be  done  with  them  or  where  they  will  find 
new  homes  no  man  can  say. 

Two  outstanding  features  of  native  character  complicate 
the  problem.  The  first  is  the  intense  local  attachment 
to  his  home  and  neighbourhood,  often  the  home  of  his 
fathers  before  him.  The  second  is  the  childlike  procras- 
tination of  an  awkward  or  troublesome  question.  He 
may  be  in  debt  and  the  due  date  draw  near ;  rather  than 
face  it  he  will  gladly  incur  further  liability,  at  any  rate  of 
interest  the  lender  demands,  so  that  the  fatal  settlement  be 
postponed.  It  will  be  seen  how  both  these  factors  in 
his  character  work  against  his  true  interest  in  this  matter 
of  land.  Rather  than  leave  the  old  kraal  site  with  all  its 
associations  he  will  promise  any  rent,  or  undertake  any 
obligation  to  furnish  labour,  only  realizing  the  onerous 
or  impossible  nature  of  the  contract  he  has  undertaken 
when  due  fulfilment  is  demanded.  Evasion,  duplicity, 
suUenness  follow,  and  the  white  man  says  the  native  has 


I40    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 


not  the  slightest  conception  of  the  sacred  nature  of  a 
contract,  and  the  relation  is  rendered  still  more  bitter. 

The  straitness  of  the  land  for  the  requirements  of  the 
Abantu,  living  in  the  traditional  way  as  pastoralist  and 
agriculturist,  is  not  confined  to  Natal.  In  varying  degrees, 
it  is  operative  all  over  South  East  Africa  ;  and  even  where 
the  pressure  is  least  felt,  the  increase  of  the  population 
will  rapidly  bring  it  to  pass.  The  natives  of  Basutoland 
are  pressing  close  on  the  limits  of  the  fertile  and  cultivable 
lands  outside  the  cold  and  sterile  mountain  region.  Zulu- 
land  is  certainly  not  fully  occupied,  but  much  of  the  area 
at  present  reserved  for  natives  is  liable  to  fever,  and 
there  are  large  districts  in  which  water  is  scarce.  In  the 
Transkeian  territories  the  native  population  is  increasing 
close  up  to  the  capacity  of  the  land  to  carry  it  as  it  is 
utilized  by  them  to-day. 

The  position  of  the  reservations  set  aside  for  the 
natives  in  the  whole  of  the  South  African  Union  is  as 
follows,  at  the  last  available  date.  A  morgen  is  two  and 
one-eighth  acres. 


Cape  Colony 
Natal  proper 
Transvaal 
Orange  Free  State 
Basutoland    . 
Bechuanaland 
Zululand 


Morgen. 

6,400,000 
1,104,174 

789.752 

38,704 

3.112,397 

38,592,759 
/  1,300,000 
(Approximately 


Population. 

1,057,610 

265,603 

343.522 

17,000 

347.731 
100,000 
250,000    \ 
Approximately  J 


Density 
Morgen 
per  head. 

6-05 

4-15 
2*29 

2-27 

8-95 

385-54 

5-69 


The  vast  territory  of  Bechuanaland  does  not  come 
within  the  immediate  scope  of  our  inquiry,  but  a  word  or 
two  on  its  possibilities  in  regard  to  overflow  of  the  native 
population  is  desirable.  It  is,  generally,  an  arid  country, 
and  opinion  differs  as  to  its  capacity  to  carry  a  consider- 
able population;  all  depends  upon  the  possibility  of  find- 
ing and  conserving  water.  There  is  evidence  to  show 
that  proper  and  scientific  examination  of  the  resources  of 
this   immense   tract   of  countr}-  would   prove  that  water 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  141 

can  be  tapped  at  moderate  depths,  and  much  can  be  done 
to  conserve  the  not  inconsiderable  rainfall  by  making 
dams.  If  this  can  be  done  at  a  cost  that  is  not  pro- 
hibitive the  country  has  possibilities,  and  may  yet  carry 
a  large  population,  for  the  natural  veldt  is  good  and  it  is 
particularly  healthy  for  cattle.  The  Hon.  Dewdney  Drew, 
in  a  most  suggestive  pamphlet  on  the  native  question, 
quoting  from  a  State  paper  written  by  Sir  Hamilton  Goold 
Adams,  Governor  of  the  Free  State,  who  has  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  Bechuanaland,  worked  out  the  question  in 
detail,  and  is  distinctly  of  opinion  that  it  is  quite  practic- 
able to  find  room  in  the  territory  for  a  large  population 
of  natives. 

It  will  be  well  here  to  state  briefly  the  position  in  the 
Cape  Colony,  the  Transvaal,  and  Basutoland  in  regard  to 
land.  In  the  first  named  the  vast  mass  of  the  Abantu  people 
live  between  the  Kei  and  Umzimkulu  rivers,  including  in 
this  area  Pondoland,  and  generally  termed  the  Transkeian 
territories.  The  greater  portion  of  this  fertile,  healthy, 
and  well-watered  country  is  reserved  for  natives.  The 
area  of  the  Cape  Colony  native  reservations  is  approxi- 
mately 21,000  square  miles,  which  carries  a  population  of 
about  1,100,000,  the  balance  of  the  native  people,  some 
450,000  souls,  being  outside  the  reserved  area  living  in 
urban  locations,  farms,  or  private  locations  sanctioned 
by  law,  which  are  established  on  farms.  Originally,  the 
whole  of  the  reserve  land  of  the  Transkeian  territories 
was  held  tribally  in  communal  tenure,  but  the  policy  of  the 
Cape  Government  for  some  years  has  been  to  gradually 
accustom  the  natives  to  a  system  akin  to  that  current 
among  Europeans,  under  which  a  native  could  acquire  a 
conditional  title  to  a  surveyed  allotment,  sufficient  for 
himself  and  family.  The  Government,  with  unusual 
foresight,  saw  a  time  rapidly  approaching  when  an  in- 
creasing number  of  the  natives  would  be  dissatisfied  with 
the  old  communal  occupation  and  desire  a  firmer  hold  on 
the  land  they  cultivated  and  occupied,  a  title  more  in 
keeping  with  their  new  ideas  and  growing  individualism. 


142-    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

They  therefore  made  provision  by  proclamation,  that 
any  districts,  so  desiring,  could  be  brought  under  survey, 
and  the  inhabitants  secured  in  their  holdings  by  having 
them  beaconed  and  marked  off,  and  given  an  individual 
title  on  certain  conditions,  the  principal  of  which  were 
and  are  : — 

That  the  allotment  cannot  be  transferred  without  the 
consent  of  Government. 

That  no  spirituous, liquor  shall  be  sold  thereon  on  pain 
of  forfeiture  of  title. 

That  the  land  shall  not  be  executable  for  debt. 

That  in  case  of  rebellion  on  the  part  of  the  holder,  or 
if  he  be  sentenced  for  a  crime  entailing  imprisonment 
for  over  twelve  months,  the  allotment  is  liable  to  for- 
feiture. 

No  allotment  can  be  sublet. 

Although,  very  wisely,  no  pressure  is  brought  to  bear 
on  the  natives  except  that  of  reason,  and  the  object  lesson 
of  districts  which  have  made  the  change ;  and  although 
the  adoption  of  the  proclamation  is  permissive,  the 
natives  of  the  Transkei  have  accepted  this,  to  them,  novel 
principle  of  land-holding  with  wonderful  unanimity.  It 
would  appear  to  be  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  whole 
of  the  Transkeian  territories  will  be  held  in  individual 
title  on  the  above  or  similar  terms.  That  is,  the  whole 
of  the  arable  land  will  be  so  appropriated,  for  in  each 
district,  areas  are  set  apart  for  grazing,  which  are  held  in 
common  and  to  which  each  allottee  has  access. 

Whilst  this  radical  change  is  being  gradually  effected 
in  respect  of  land  tenure,  an  experiment  was  being  tried 
of  giving  the  people  a  large  share  in  the  management  of 
their  local  affairs  by  means  of  district  councils,  and  a 
more  intimate  interest  in  the  larger  affairs'of  the  territory 
by  a  General  Council.  To  this  I  make  more  extended 
reference  elsewhere.  It  is,  however,  closely  linked  up  to 
the  land  question  in  that  provision  is  made  for  the  taxa- 
tion of  the  people  by  themselves,  and  the  expenditure  of 
the  revenue  collected   on  schemes   of  local  betterment. 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  143 

Under  the  advice  and  guidance  of  the  European  magis- 
trates, they  have,  since  the  estabhshment  of  these  oppor- 
tunities of  self-government,  wisely  spent  increasing  sums 
on  agricultural  education  and  the  general  encouragement 
of  agricultural  progress.  This  has  meant  a  better  utiliza- 
tion of  the  land,  and  the  stimulus  thus  working,  in  co- 
ordination with  the  natural  impulse  to  develop  given  by 
security  of  title,  has  led  to  great  general  improvement, 
going  hand  in  hand  with  economy  of  land,  compared  with 
the  wasteful  methods  of  the  past. 

The  position  in  regard  to  the  land  of  the  Transkei  has 
recently  been  reviewed  by  the  Hon.  H.  Burton,  who  when 
Minister  of  Justice  (Attorney  General)  of  the  Cape  Colony 
made  a  journey  through  the  Transkei  and  reported  thereon. 
It  has  also  been  closely  investigated  in  detail  by  a  com- 
mission appointed  by  the  Governor  during  the  present 
year  (19 10).  This  commission  was  presided  over  by 
Colonel  Stanford,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  and  their  report  was 
published  a  few  months  ago.  A  further  examination 
into  the  land  and  self-government  question  was  made  by 
a  deputation  from  Natal,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  F.  B. 
Bridgman  of  the  American  Zulu  Mission,  and  two  natives 
of  standing  and  education,  Posselt  Gumede  and  Martin 
N.  Lutuli.  They  were  specially  appointed  by  the  Natal 
Government  to  visit  the  Transkei,  and  they  had  every 
facility  given  them,  including  an  opportunity  to  sit 
through  the  session  of  the  General  Council.  All  these 
authorities,  to  whom  I  refer  elsewhere,  agree  in  attribut- 
ing the  progress  made  in  agriculture  and  life,  and  the 
contented  condition  of  the  people,  largely  to  what  is 
called  the  generous  and  enlightened  policy  of  the  Cape 
Government  and  its  officials,  in  respect  to  land  and  self- 
government.  The  last-named  report  is  perhaps  especiall^^ 
interesting  and  instructive  to  us,  as  the  deputation  was, 
from  lifelong  acquaintance  with  the  conditions  in  Natal, 
qualified  to  make  comparisons  with  what  they  found 
under  the  different  conditions  and  the  different  policy 
whicli  there  obtained. 


144     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Outside  the  Government  reserves,  it  is  possible  for 
natives  in  the  Cape  Colony  to  acquire  land  by  purchase, 
and  a  certain  number  have  done  so.  A  large  population 
also  lives  as  servants  on  farms  both  in  portions  of  the 
Transkeian  territories  and  in  the  Cape  Colony  proper, 
these  together  numbering  some  220,000  souls. 

There  is  a  system  in  vogue  in  parts  of  the  Cape 
Colony  which  is  unknown  in  Natal,  by  which  the  land- 
owner enters  into  partnership  with  his  native  tenants, 
he  finding  the  land  and  they  the  labour,  and  the  crop  is 
divided  between  them.  The  proportions  to  each  vary 
according  to  circumstances,  and  also  whether  the  land- 
owner supplies  seed,  implements,  or  other  consideration 
than  the  bare  land. 

The  settlement  of  natives  on  farms,  beyond  those 
required  as  farm  servants,  is  discouraged  in  the  Cape 
Colony.  Owners  of  land  who  desire  to  take  on  native 
tenants,  must  take  out  a  licence  from  Government,  such 
licence  being  only  issued  upon  the  authority  of  Govern- 
ment and  with  the  consent  of  the  Divisional  Council. 
The  owner  of  the  land  is  responsible  for  licence  fees  of 
;^i  per  annum  for  each  male  living  on  the  land,  and  for 
the  hut  tax  of  los.  per  annum  for  each  hut.  These 
amounts  are,  doubtless,  finally  reckoned  in  the  rent  and 
paid  by  the  tenant.  These  private  locations  do  not 
account  for  any  large  number  of  the  Abantu  people  of 
the  Cape  Colony,  probably  at  the  present  time  between 
40,000  and  50,000  residing  thereon. 

In  Natal,  the  natives  working  in  urban  areas  are  pro- 
vided with  quarters  by  the  employers  whether  they  are 
employed  in  domestic  service  or  in  stores  or  business 
houses,  but  the  system  is  different  in  the  Cape  Colony. 
There,  attached  to  the  principal  towns,  and  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  residences  of  the  Europeans,  is  the  native 
location ;  there  live  not  only  the  single  male  and  female 
servants,  but  families  of  natives,  many  of  whom  reside 
there  permanently.  The  merits  of  this  system,  both  from 
the  European  and  native  points  of  view,  as  compared  with 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN     145 

what  is  the  custom  in  Natal,  has  been  often  discussed,  and 
opinions  differ.  Undoubtedly  the  sanitary  and  moral 
condition  of  many  of  these  locations  leaves  much  to  be 
desired.  It  only  impinges  on  the  question  of  land  in  so 
far  as  in  many  cases  natives  rent  a  plot  in  the  location, 
erect  their  own  houses,  and  inasmuch  as  the  dwellers 
therein  are  permanent  residents  they  relieve  the  land 
elsewhere.  In  Cape  Colony  probably  no  less  than 
120,000  live  in  these  urban  locations  at  the  present  time. 
The  position  in  the  Transvaal  approximates  more 
closely,  in  many  respects,  to  that  of  Natal,  the  provision 
made  by  Government  in  reserves  being,  however,  much 
less.  Although  the  Abantu  population  of  the  Transvaal 
is  approximately  that  of  Natal  (including  Zululand)  only 
some  1,3  56,800  acres  are  set  aside  as  Government  locations. 
Natives  cannot  hold  land  in  their  own  right,  but  have 
been  allowed  to  acquire  it,  the  title  resting  in  a  Govern- 
ment nominee,  originally  the  Location  Commission,  subse- 
quently the  Superintendent  of  Natives,  and  now  the 
Commission  for  Native  Affairs.  By  private  arrangement, 
in  some  cases  lands  have  been  bought  by  natives  and  re- 
gistered in  the  names  of  friendly  Europeans  or  the  mission- 
aries. There  are  over  half  a  million  acres  thus  owned  by 
natives,  the  large  proportionof  which  has  been  purchased 
by  tribal  subscription,  and  is  occupied  communally.  Al- 
though, according  to  law,  only  five  native  families  may  oc- 
cupy a  farm  or  subdivision  of  a  farm,  over  half  the  native 
population  of  the  Transvaal  live  on  privately  owned  land, 
some  occupied,  but  the  greater  portion  not  occupied  by 
Europeans,  but  left  entirely  to  the  natives,  l^he  law 
restricting  the  number  of  natives  on  private  lands  is,  as 
in  Natal,  a  dead  letter.  The  majority  of  these  farms, 
which  are  practically  private  native  locations,  are  in  the  re- 
moter districts  of  Zoutpansberg,  Waterberg,  Lydenburg, 
often  in  country  unhealthy  for  Europeans.  As  in  Natal, 
the  rents  vary  considerably,  and  also  as  there,  the  owners 
make  labour  demands  on  their  tenants.  The  Transvaal 
Government  owns  a,  large  area  of  Crown  lands,  amount- 

10 


146     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

ing  in  all  to  19,737,600  acres  on  which  about  180,000 
natives  are  squatting,  every  cultivator  paying  to  Govern- 
ment a  rent  of  one  pound  sterling  per  annum. 

In  Basutoland,  the  whole  territory  is  held  in  trust  for 
the  Basuto  nation  by  the  Resident  Commissioner,  and 
neither  he  nor  the  paramount  chief  can  alienate  it.  Not- 
withstanding the  very  material  progress  made  by  the 
Basuto  in  education,  the  arts,  and  agriculture,  they  all 
hold  their  land  under  the  tribal  system,  and  there  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  a  demand,  certainly  there  has 
been  no  effective  demand,  for  private  ownership  of  land. 
Basutoland  is  in  area  3,112,397  morgen,  and  on  this  live 
about  350,000  natives  equal  to  8*95  morgen  per  head. 
It  must  be  remembered  that,  though  parts  of  Basutoland 
are  fertile  and  remarkably  healthy  for  stock,  much  the 
greater  part  consists  of  rocky,  moory  mountain  heights 
averaging  probably  8000  to  9000  feet  above  sea-level,  a 
cold  inhospitable  country  in  which  corn  will  not  ripen, 
and  in  which  cattle  would  starve  if  left  the  whole  year 
round. 

As  mentioned  elsewhere,  the  area  of  land  set  apart  for 
Abantu  people  in  Cape  Colony  is  approximately  6,400,000 
morgen,  on  which  live  about  1,100,000  people  or  say  6*05 
morgen  per  head.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult,  even 
for  one  who  knows  both  the  Transkei  and  Basutoland,  to 
say,  with  any  degree  of  exactitude,  which  area  is  naturally 
the, most  productive  both  for  agriculture  and  stock  raising, 
morgen  for  morgen.  The  opinions  of  those  who  would 
be  considered  experts  would  probably  differ  widely.  To 
compare,  say  Pondoland  and  the  coast  districts  of  the 
Transkei  with  the  highlands  of  Basutoland,  is  to  compare 
countries  differing  much  in  climate,  elevation,  rainfall, 
contour.  In  many  respects  the  former  has  advantages, 
more  regular  rainfall,  shelter  for  stock,  warmth  and  early 
maturity  of  crops.  The  latter  is  more  healthy  for  stock ; 
and  more  valuable  crops,  especially  wheat,  can  be  grown, 
which  do  not  thrive  in  the  coastal  districts.  Taking  it, 
all  in  all,  and  especially  considering    the  large   area   of 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  147 

Basutoland  which  is  too  elevated  for  comfortable  human 
existence,  I  should  say  that  probably  the  available  area 
fit  for  human  occupation,  per  head  of  the  present  popula- 
tion, is  much  the  same  in  the  two  districts.  I  make  this 
comparison  because  we  have  here  two  countries  each 
with  a  large  native  population  at  present,  prosperous  and 
contented,  but  in  which  the  policy  respecting  the  land  is 
totally  different.  In  the  Transkei  the  policy  of  the  Cape 
Government  has  been,  as  I  have  shown,  to  introduce  and 
encourage  modified  European  methods,  the  gradual  ac- 
quirement of  definite  fixed  areas  by  individuals ;  in 
Basutoland,  under  the  Imperial  Government,  there  has 
been  a  strict  adherence  to  the  ancestral  tribal  and  com- 
munal system.  Though  the  districts  vary  very  much, 
there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  great  natural  advantage 
in  one  as  compared  with  the  other,  and  the  amount  of  land 
practically  available  'per  head  may  be  regarded  as  the 
same. 

Though  under  systems  of  tenure  so  dissimilar,  for  both 
may  be  claimed  a  considerable  measure  of  success.  In 
both  the  natives  are  contented,  thriving,  fairly  industrious  ; 
in  both  large  quantities  of  valuable  produce  are  grown 
by  them.  It  is  claimed,  by  those  who  advocate  the  Cape 
Colony  methods,  that  the  Transkeian  natives  occupy  the 
territory  to  greater  advantage  and  actually  raise  more 
from  the  land  than  would  be  possible  if  it  was  fully  oc- 
cupied by  Europeans.  In  his  valuable  and  most  interest- 
ing work  on  the  Basuto,  Sir  Godfrey  Lagden  says,  "They 
are  not  exploited  by  the  State,  but  are  shown  the  way  to 
prosper,  aided  only  by  capital  withdrawn  from  their  own 
funds  when  it  can  be  usefully  employed  to  develop  lines 
of  work  from  which  flow  industry  and  betterment.  The 
tendency  is  to  bring  out  the  best  side  of  a  naturall}-  in- 
dustrious people.  The  imports  of  this  small  community' 
approximate  annually  to  a  quarter  of  a  million  sterling, 
almost  entirely  for  clothing  and  goods  manufactured  in 
the  United  Kingdom  ;  the  exports  to  a  similar  value  of 
agricultural  produce  dispersed  for  consumption  in  South 

10  * 


148     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Africa.  No  ivhite  population  would  produce  as  much  in  the 
space  available.^' 

Viewed  by  the  white  man,  it  would  appear  incontro- 
vertible that,  to  ensure  the  best  results  from  the  land,  the 
cultivator  must  have  individual  security  of  tenure,  free- 
hold or  its  equivalent.  This  is  undoubtedly  necessary  to 
the  best  utilization  by  the  European  ;  his  instincts  and 
reasoning  combine  to  tell  him  so,  and  experience  in 
European  countries,  and  especially  in  British  Colonies, 
proves  it  to  be  correct  in  his  case.  This  view  is  taken  by 
many  well-wishers  to  the  Abantu  in  South  Africa,  and 
adopted  in  many  cases  by  the  natives  themselves  both  in 
Cape  Colony  and  elsewhere. 

The  experience  in  Basutoland  seems  to  show  that 
given  a  settled  form  of  government,  under  the  guidance 
of  enlightened  and  sympathetic  European  administrators, 
it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  considerable  measure  of  agri- 
cultural success  and  general  prosperity  under  the  com- 
munal system.  What  would  be  fatal  to  the  best  results, 
if  applied  to  Europeans,  does  not  bar  success  when 
continued  by  natives — the  custom  is  their  own,  and  under 
circumstances  otherwise  favourable  they  do  not  feel  its 
drawbacks  and  restraints.  However  much  we  may  ap- 
prove individual  title,  it  seems  certain  we  ought  not  to 
force  it  on  any  branch  of  the  Abantu.  If  they  desire  and 
seek  it,  well  and  good,  any  disabilities  it  may  bring  in  its 
train  can  and  must  then  be  faced  by  those  who  voluntarily 
undertook  it.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  native  population 
will  probably  force  us  to  judge  of  the  merits  of  the  two 
systems  primarily  on  their  respective  possibilities  to 
carry  an  increased  and  increasing  population  on  a  given 
area.  From  my  experience  in  Natal,  I  should  judge  that 
on  this  criterion  individual  allotments  would  justifiy  this 
system.  It  means,  of  course,  that  finally  there  will  be 
a  differentiation  of  the  people  into  two  classes,  the  landed 
and  the  landless.  To  what  complications  in  the  future 
this  may  give  birth  we  cannot  tell.  Whether  the  mass 
would  be  more  contented  to    be   squeezed  into  smaller 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  149 

areas  and  adjust  themselves  on  a  rough  principle  of  give 
and  take  ;  or  a  line  of  cleavage  be  established  with  possible 
jealousy  and  hostility  of  classes,  cannot  be  predicted  with 
any  certainty.  It  is  essentially  a  problem  to  be  worked 
out  as  we  gain  actual  and  practical  experience. 

Meantime,  the  experiments  being  tried  in  the  Transkei 
and  Basutoland  are  full  of  interest  and  will  be  watched 
as  they  progress  by  all  friends  of  the  Abantu  people,  and 
the  application  of  one  or  other  method  to  other  groups 
will  largely  depend  on  the  experience  gained. 

With  other  races,  when  similar  conditions  of  conges- 
tion have  gradually  come  about,  there  has  been  time  for 
adjustment,  the  agriculturist  has  been  transformed  into 
a  city  dweller  and  industrialist.  Here  the  rapid  increase 
in  the  population,  their  innate  conservatism,  and  the  great 
fact  that  the  ruling  race  has  different  ideals  (which  it  has 
been  so  intent  on  pursuing  that  it  has  not  had  time 
to  recognize  the  problem  or  knowledge  to  adjust  it),  has 
allowed  it  to  grow  until  the  position  has  become,  or  soon 
will  be,  acute.  The  native  has  been  wonderfully  willing 
to  leave  his  home  to  work  for  short  intervals  under  un- 
familiar surroundings.  At  any  one  time,  hundreds  of 
thousands  are  away  from  all  they  love  best,  undertaking 
tasks  they  abhor  in  their  hearts.  But  never  do  they 
quit  the  home  life,  never  permanently  cut  themselves  ofT 
from  the  kraal  and  what  it  stands  for.  A  limited  number 
may  do  so,  a  few  degraded  young  men  fall  under  the  spell, 
absorb  the  vices  of  town  life,  and  there  remain,  and  this 
number  is,  unfortunately,  increasing.  I  was  surprised 
the  other  day  to  learn  that  about  one  hundred  native 
families  are  actually  living  in  Durban.  But  these  excep- 
tions only  prove  the  rule.  Back  to  the  land  is  the 
inarticulate  cry  of  the  Abantu,  and  no  relief  of  the  situa- 
tion is  likely  to  be  brought  about  by  those  who  will  accept 
entirely  new  conditions  of  life  which  would  connote 
abandonment  of  all  they  value.  Nor  is  it  well  it  should 
be  so.  If  our  aim  is  to  be  the  conservation  of  what  is 
best  in  this  people,  if  they  have  any  ethnic  value  as  a 


I50    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

race  unit,  then  such  a  fundamental  disintegration  of  what 
is  so  intimately  and  vitally  interwoven  in  their  constitu- 
tion would  be  fatal. 

They  are  utterly  unprepared  for  such  a  violent  change 
as  is  implied  in  the  transference  of  large  numbers  from 
their  present  environment  to  the  industrial  life  of  cities. 
Galling  as  it  may  be  to  the  captain  of  industry  to  see 
thousands  of  more  or  less  intelligent,  exceptionally 
strong  men  and  women  all  around  and  yet  unavailable  to 
him,  the  position  would  be  made  infinitely  more  difficult 
and  embarrassing  by  any  relief  which  could  be  given  by 
breaking  up  their  present  life,  and  with  it  all  standards 
of  conduct  and  all  the  wholesome  restraints  to  which  they 
are  accustomed.  Torn  from  the  present  controls  and 
sanctions  and  plunged  into  the  whirlpool  of  city  and  in- 
dustrial life,  without  even  the  occasional  return  to  sweeter 
and  healthier  conditions,  makes  one  who  knows  them 
shudder  for  their  future.  And  if  our  own  race  life  is  to 
remain  pure  and  our  ideals  uncontaminated,  equally  for  us 
would  such  a  course  be  disastrous.  At  whatever  sacrifice 
of  possible  economic  developments,  the  remedy  for  the 
present  difficulty  is  not  by  rapid,  and  what  may  seem  easy 
adjustment,  but  by  more  gradual  means,  at  least  as  much 
of  conservation  as  of  transformation. 

The  unconscious  conservatism  which  has  enabled 
them  to  persist  in  a  life  healthy  and  suited  to  their  tem- 
perament, has  been,  so  far,  of  the  utmost  value  to  the 
race,  and  it  is  our  part  to  recognize  it  and  consciously 
support  them  in  their  unpremeditated  adhesion  to  what 
is  best  in  their  life  plan.  Changes  have  taken  place 
with  ever-increasing  rapidity ;  more  are  being  evolved. 
Some  of  them  we  can  with  advantage  accept ;  we  must 
retard  the  forward  swing  of  others  ;  but  we  must  not,  for 
an  easy  path  and  the  apparent  immediate  easing  of  a 
strained  position,  throw  down  all  that  keeps  this  primitive 
people  to  their  valued  and  valuable  race  life. 

Back  to  the  land  is  the  cry  in  the  older  countries, 
where  they  have  experienced  the  dire  results  of  exagger- 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  151 

ated  city  life,  and  the  thought  of  the  best  among  them  is 
directed  to  replace,  by  more  natural  conditions,  what  has 
insidiously  developed  into  a  cancer  in  their  national  life. 
Here  we  have  a  people  crying  aloud  against  the  divorce 
threatening  them.  Along  the  line  of  the  genius  of  a  race 
much  may  be  done,  much  may  be  modified,  wounds  may 
be  healed,  and  development  and  progress  made  possible ; 
counter  to  it,  dire  distress  and  eventual  destruction  of 
the  race  ideal.  Of  infinite  import  and  value  to  the 
Abantu  race  has  been  this  clinging  to  the  land  with  all 
it  implied.  It  has  preserved  them  from  the  dissolution 
which  a  too  ready  compliance  with  the  temptations  held 
out  by  our  civilization  would  have  implied.  The  race 
still  stands  firm  ;  its  attachment  to  the  land  has  saved  it. 

I  have  said  that,  according  to  native  ideas,  the  loca- 
tions in  Natal  are  full  and  the  reserves  in  other  parts  of 
South  East  Africa  are  nearing  the  limit  of  population 
they  will  accommodate.  This,  however,  does  not  mean 
that,  speaking  of  the  whole,  they  will  not,  if  properly  and 
fully  utilized,  carry  a  much  larger  number  of  people. 
Most  wasteful  and  extravagant  are  native  methods  of 
farming,  both  pastoral  and  agricultural.  No  fencing,  no 
manuring,  no  proper  allocation  of  the  land  to  various 
purposes  is  really  attempted.  Due  attention  to  these 
matters,  and  especially,  in  many  districts,  to  the  finding 
and  conservation  of  water,  and  in  others  the  prevention 
of  the  causes  which  lead  to  malarial  fever,  and  room  for 
a  large  increase  of  population,  could  be  found.  If,  along 
with  the  better  utilization  of  the  land,  home  industries 
could  be  taught  and  fostered,  and  facilities  given  for 
the  easy,  rapid,  and  safe  transfer  of  labourers  to  centres 
of  employment,  and  the  conditions  there  made  as  little 
uncongenial  and  as  little  detrimental  to  morals  and 
manners  as  possible,  a  great  deal  would  be  achieved  in 
preserving  the  home  life  of  the  people,  so  essential  if 
they  are  as  a  race  to  have  a  reasonable  opportunity  to 
develop  and  conserve  what  is  best  in  them. 

Before  I  close  this  chapter,  and  at  the  risk  of  recapitul- 


152     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

ation,  I  will  again  say  a  few  words  on  the  new  departure 
in  land  tenure,  for  I  feel  that  it  is  a  subject  of  the  first 
importance  and  one  that  should  be  viewed  from  all  sides. 
I  feel  that  the  success  of  the  experiment  in  the  Trans- 
keian  territories  will  lead  to  its  adoption  sooner  or  later, 
and  probably  sooner  than  later,  in  other  parts  of  South 
East  Africa.  The  Natal  Native  Affairs  Commission  re- 
commended that  a  beginning  in  individual  tenure  be 
made  as  an  experiment  on  the  Mission  reserves  in  Natal, 
and  that  as  experience  proved  it  desirable  it  be  extended 
to  the  locations.  As  compared  with  the  communal  system, 
it  so  strongly  appeals  to  the  white  man  that  his  general 
support  may  be  expected  to  any  schemes  for  extension. 
Such  extension,  should,  however,  be  carefully  watched. 
The  obvious  advantages  of  individual  tenure  are  such 
as,  in  the  eyes  of  the  European,  to  make  it  inconceivable 
that  any  person  should  fail  to  appreciate  them,  and  above 
all  that  any  should  prefer  the  archaic  tribal  plan.  All 
the  undoubted  advantages  of  the  individualistic,  as  against 
the  socialistic  and  collective,  are  those  which  appeal  least 
to  the  native,  and  can  only  be  appreciated  by  him  when  his 
tribal  instincts  have  become  attenuated.  The  advantage 
of  giving  security  to  a  man  in  his  own,  so  that  he  can 
fully  develop  it,  and  personally  gain  by  such  development, 
is  fundamentally  contrary  to  native  instincts.  Another 
advantage  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  the  new  system 
is  that  it  gives  the  allottee  a  stake  in  the  country,  and 
with  that  he  becomes  a  force  on  the  ,side  of  law  and 
order.  This  is  so ;  but  the  force  of  the  argument  appeals 
to  the  white  man  and  not  to  the  black.  Bound  up  by 
strongest  cords  of  attachment  to  his  tribe  and  chief,  he 
does  not  need  any  material  stake  in  the  country  to 
strengthen  his  devotion  to  his  community.  The  wealthier 
the  white  man,  the  more  he  is  supposed  to  be  on  the  side 
of  conservatism  and  the  settled  order;  the  poorer  the 
native,  the  more  he  feels  the  need  of  and  rests  upon  the 
strength  of  the  community. 

One  strong  argument  in  favour  of  survey  and  allot- 


LAND— THE  NEED  OF  THE  BLACK  MAN  153 

ment  is  that  the  land  will  be  better  utilized  and  carry  a 
much  greater  population.  This  must  be  admitted  as 
probable,  and  the  present  wasteful  methods  in  many 
parts  under  the  old  system,  are  shocking  to  the  economic 
sense  of  every  European.  If  the  new  system  prevails, 
a  time  will  come,  unless  the  fecundity  of  the  Abantu  be 
greatly  diminished,  when  all  the  arable  land  will  be  taken 
up,  and  under  the  rigid  individualistic  system  the  people 
will  be  divided  into  landowners  and  landless.  Had  the 
old  tenure  prevailed,  its  elasticity  would  prevent  this 
distinction  and  all  might  have  had  a  resting-place  and 
home  on  the  land,  though  under  conditions  probably 
militating  against  progress,  and  which  might  become,  in 
time,  positively  appalling  to  the  European. 

I  am  not  opposing  individual  tenure.  To  some  ex- 
tent it  is  inevitable ;  provision  must  be  made  for  many 
who  have  fully  accepted  the  way  of  the  white  man.  I 
want  to  emphasize  here  again  the  different  angle  from 
which  black  and  white  view  life,  and  illustrate  it  once 
again  in  this  connection  ;  and  my  endeavour  to  give  the 
different  points  of  view  has  a  practical  application.  If 
I  am  right  it  should  make  us  pause  before  we  apply 
principles  so  clear  and  obviously  beneficial  to  us,  to  those 
who  cannot  appreciate  them.  And  therefore,  I  say,  whilst 
experiment  should  be  made  in  the  new  system  of  land 
tenure,  the  extension  and  its  effect  on  the  people  should 
be  carefully  watched.  Whatever  system  be  adopted,  let 
the  roots  of  the  Abantu  people  remain  in  the  soil  of  their 
country.  From  that  connection  in  the  past  they  have 
drawn  health,  strength,  sanity,  in  the  troubled  future  it 
will  be  the  most  salutary  influence  in  keeping  them  from 
degeneration  and  despair. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LABOUR-THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN. 

Before  the  appearance  of  the  white  man  in  South  East 
Africa,  the  conditions  of  hfe  of  the  Abantu  did  not  de- 
mand continuous  manual  labour.  The  climate  was  genial, 
land  abundant,  life  simple,  and  wants  few,  so  that  their 
actual  requirements  were  easily  provided  in  normal  times. 
The  man  might  clear  the  ground,  make  the  utensils  and 
weapons,  milk  the  cows,  hunt,  and  go  to  war.  The  boys 
herded  the  cattle  and  goats,  the  women  had  the  more 
laborious  work  of  tilling  the  ground,  gathering  the  wood, 
carrying  the  water,  and  any  other  service  undefined  as 
within  the  sphere  of  the  man. 

The  white  man  appeared,  and  in  the  early  days  his 
requisitions  for  service  were  not  onerous,  and  the  native 
responded  to  them  without  much  demur.  The  opera- 
tions and  activities  of  the  European  grew  and  widened, 
and  more  and  more  native  labour  was  required,  and, 
speaking  generally,  the  black  man  was  found  ready 
to  undertake  all  that  was  asked.  Considering  the 
enormously  increased  demand,  far  above  that  of  any 
increase  in  the  number  of  labourers,  and  bearing  in 
mind  his  antecedents  and  previous  mode  of  living,  his 
response  to  the  unaccustomed  was  marvellous,  and  far 
beyond  that  of  any  race  in  a  like  stage  of  culture  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge. 

In  South  East  Africa  the  white  man  draws  a  dis- 
tinction between  what  he  considers  the  work  of  a  white 
man  and  Kaffir  work,  and  is  very  jealous  of  any  infringe- 
ment of  what  he  thinks  are  his  labour  rights.  All  clerical 
work,  practically  all  handicrafts,  all  skilled  work  in  con- 

154 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        155 

nection  with  machinery,  all  supervision  are  regarded  as 
the  prerogative  of  the  European.  If  a  firm  employed 
native  clerks,  they  would  probably  be  boycotted  ;  if  a 
native  was  seen  doing  the  skilled  work  in  connection 
with  the  erection  of  a  building,  the  Press  would  teem 
with  indignant  letters.  To  plough,  to  dig,  to  hoe,  to  fetch 
and  carry,  to  cook — all  laborious  and  menial  toil  is  the 
duty  of  the  black  man.  The  average  white  man  would 
consider  it  degrading  to  be  seen  doing  any  of  these 
things  in  the  public  eye.  There  are  a  few  occupations 
which  either  may  undertake,  but  only  a  few — either  may 
drive  a  vehicle ;  a  black  man  may,  often  under  protest,  do 
the  plainest  kinds  of  painting.  Occasionally  you  may 
see  a  white  man,  possibly  an  enthusiast  in  gardening 
exercise,  dig  up  a  flower  bed  or  perhaps  wheel  a  barrow 
in  his  own  private  domain,  although  even  this  is  rare  ; 
but  never  in  the  towns  do  you  see  a  black  man  use  pen 
or  plane,  saw  or  chisel.  All  the  hard  work,  up  to  the 
actual  use  of  the  tools,  he  is  called  upon  to  perform  ;  he 
carries  the  bag  of  tools  on  his  back,  he  places  the  plank 
in  position  and  takes  it  away,  he  eases  the  white  man  of 
much  he  would  be  called  upon  to  do  elsewhere,  but  he 
must  not  do  the  actual  skilled  part.  In  some  trades,  for 
some  unexplained  reason,  perhaps  in  part  because  the 
workshops  do  not  come  under  the  observation  of  the 
ever-critical  public,  the  native  may  be  employed  in  the 
less  skilled  portions;  they  do  nearly  all  the  stitching  in 
the  harness  trade  and  are  employed  as  boot  and  shoe 
repairers,  and,  as  I  said,  they  are  somewhat  grudgingly 
allowed  the  painting  of  an  iron  roof  or  building  or  a 
plain  fence. 

'  Not  a  trade  or  calling  of  which  I  am  aware  is  carried 
on  throughout  by  the  white  man  alone ;  the  natives  are 
the  labourers  to  the  carpenter,  hodmen  and  mortar 
mixers  to  the  bricklayer,  the  strikers  to  the  blacksmith, 
porters  in  the  stores,  messengers  in  the  offices.  In 
nearly  every  case,  the  white  man  emplo3'ed  in  these 
callings  places  a  larger  share  of  the  hard  work  on  the 


156    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

shoulders  of  the  native  than  he  would  do  on  an  ap- 
prentice or  labourer  of  his  own  race.  Even  in  skilled 
trades,  in  countries  in  which  the  population  is  homo- 
geneous, a  certain  amount  of  unpleasant  or  menial  work 
attaches  to  the  trade  and  is  performed  by  the  skilled 
artisan  ;  in  South  East  Africa  all  this  is  done  by  the 
black  man — the  white  man  is  not  expected  to  undertake 
it ;  it  is  Kaffir's  work. 

In  domestic  service  they  have  a  practical  monopoly. 
The  last  evidence  of  the  poverty  of  a  family  in  South 
East  Africa  would  be  the  inability  to  employ  the  ubiquitous 
umfaan  to  sweep,  to  wash,  to  tend  the  baby.  The  work, 
that  elsewhere  is  regarded  as  the  duty  of  the  wives  of 
those  who  are  not  in  affluent  circumstances,  the  rougher 
work  of  the  household,  is  rarely  undertaken  by  them 
personally  in  South  East  Africa.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
Kaffir. 

And  all  this  labour  is  intermittent.  Nowhere  is  it 
expected  that  the  native  shall  work  on  from  year's  end  to 
year's  end,  as  does  the  white  man.  Even  on  the  farms  his 
kraal  is  away  from  the  homestead  and  his  labour  is  not 
continuous.  To  the  towns  he  comes  from  his  home  in 
the  location,  twenty,  fifty,  it  may  be  a  hundred  miles  or 
more  away,  and  his  limit  of  continuous  service  is  from  six 
to  nine  months,  when  he  is  seized  with  nostalgia,  and 
neither  threats  nor  promises  can  retain,  and  "Jim"  dis- 
appears and  is  probably  never  again  seen  by  his  employer. 
And  on  the  disappearance  of  the  boy  the  trouble  of  the 
average  Natal  town  household  begins.  Through  stress  and 
strain  the  departed  and  lamented  one  has  learned  much. 
He  had  got  accustomed  to  the  particular  variety  of  Kitchen- 
Kaffir  talked  by  his  mistress,  or  had  begun  to  understand 
English,  he  had  learned  the  desires  and  ways  of  the  house- 
hold, and  with  variants  to  suit  himself,  and  accepted  by 
his  employers  as  the  line  of  least  resistance,  he  fulfilled 
their  desires.  He  turned  out  uncommonly  sharp,  his 
mistress  told  of  his  accomplishments  to  the  neighbours, 
and  if  his  kitchen  was  not  spotless  and  he  was  found  doing 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        157 

sundry  dirty  tricks — well,  he  saved  every  one  so  much 
disagreeable  labour  that  such  trifles  must  be  tolerated. 
Now  he  has  gone.  The  only  way  to  replace  him  is  to 
tell  all  the  boys  employed  by  the  neighbours  that  a  kitchen 
boy  is  wanted,  and  they  are  to  look  out  and  catch  the 
new  comer  from  the  country  as  he  arrives.  If  labour  is 
scarce,  days  may  pass  and  no  boy.  All  the  household  are 
reduced  to  doing  their  own  work  or  leaving  it  undone. 
The  late  boy  had  muddled  through  so  much,  leaving  his 
employers  untroubled,  that  the  change  was  most  disagree- 
able, and  besides,  what  was  the  good  of  starting  doing 
things  for  oneself  when  a  boy  may  turn  up  to-morrow. 
And  a  boy  does  actually  turn  up,  to  the  hidden  delight  of 
all.  He  is  introduced  by  a  friend,  both  of  whom  are 
utterly  unknown  to  the  employer ;  it  is  true  he  has  an 
identification  pass  which  might  apply  to  the  next  half- 
dozen  boys  one  meets, of  about  the  same  size.  The  ques- 
tions asked  are  few,  no  character  is  demanded  or  produced, 
the  principal  point  is  the  amount  of  wages,  and  the  new 
boy  is  installed.  His  Kitchen-Kaffir  is  quite  unlike  that 
of  the  last  boy,  and  he  has  not  worked  in  a  kitchen  before. 
The  language  difficulty  being  great,  and  the  density  of  the 
boy  considerable,  those  who  should  instruct  him  in  his 
work  soon  get  wearied,  and  he  is  allowed  to  pick  up  the 
rudiments  of  a  kitchen  education  as  best  he  can,  his 
employers  willing  to  condone  much,  providing  a  crisis  is 
kept  at  bay.  In  time,  he  learns  how  to  get  through  as 
easily  as  possible  to  himself,  and  though  acknowledged  to 
be  extremely  dirty,  is  allowed  to  remain — the  alternative 
of  being  boy-less  is  out  of  the  question.  And  so  he 
muddles  through  until  in  time  he  goes  back  to  his  kraal 
over  the  Tugela  and  another  takes  his  place. 

Though  there  are  household  managers  made  of  sterner 
stuff  who  personally  work  themselves  or  strictly  supervise 
the  native,  the  above  is  an  exact  picture  of  the  position 
of  the  boy  in  many — most — town  houses  in  Natal.  Two 
or  three  things  strike  the  observer.  One  is  that  a  boy 
utterly  unknown,  without  character,  is,  if  the  wages  are 


158    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

satisfactorily  arranged,  immediately  received  into  the 
family  and  trusted  with  its  secrets  and  possessions  ;  it 
speaks  volumes  for  the  general  trustworthiness  of  the 
Abantu.  Another  is  that  though  the  native  may  never 
have  been  in  a  white  man's  house  before,  he  is  expected 
to  undertake  and  understand  all  the  mysteries  of  his  wants, 
his  appliances,  and  to  be  an  experienced  kitchenmaid  with 
but  the  merest  pretence  at  instruction  on  the  part  of  the 
employer.  This  indicates  great  adaptability  on  the  part 
of  the  native,  but  it  predicates  also  that  the  work  is  done 
in  a  slovenly  and  inefficient  way,  and  that  houses  so  run 
would  leave  much  to  be  desired  from  the  point  of  viev/ 
and  standard  of  some  countries.  But  the  ease  and  comfort 
to  the  white  is  indubitable,  and  these  drawbacks  are 
tolerated.  Many  a  family  who  left  Natal  during  the 
depression,  and  which  has  had  to  live  in  the  harder  con- 
ditions of  Britain  or  other  colonies,  have  sorely  missed  the 
native.  Whether  they  were  really  better  or  worse  for  his 
presence  is  another  question  and  forms  another  phase  of 
the  inquiry. 

During  the  depressed  times  following  the  Boer  war 
employment  was  sometimes  difficult  to  obtain,  but  in 
normal  times  the  demand  is  fully  equal  to  the  supply,  and 
all  natives,  willing  to  work  for  Europeans,  can  obtain 
employment.  The  gold  mines  of  the  Witwatersrand  and 
the  coal  mines  of  Natal  can  always  absorb  all  who  are 
able  and  willing  to  undertake  the  journeys  thereto. 

The  demands  of  the  native  worker  on  his  employer 
are  not  exigent ;  he  never  makes  any  complaint  as  to 
housing,  and  bad  enough  some  of  it  often  is  ;  mealie  meal 
which  he  cooks  himself  is  the  only  food  provided,  unless 
he  be  the  kitchen  boy,  in  which  case  he  devours  the 
family  leavings.  If  the  mealie  meal  is  stale  he  generally 
makes  the  fact  known,  but  the  customs,  rules,  and  ob- 
servances which  make  the  position  of  the  employer  of 
white  labour,  domestic  and  other,  often  so  harassing,  are 
unknown  to  the  native.  From  sunrise  to  sunset  are  his 
hours,  he  may  be  sent  anywhere,  however  distant,  and 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        159 

told  to  do  anything,  however  arduous ;  his  lodging,  how- 
ever bad,  he  accepts,  and  his  food  is  of  the  very  simplest. 
No  wonder  the  white  man,  when  he  goes  elsewhere,  misses 
the  native. 

Confining  my  remarks  for  the  moment  to  Natal,  and 
bearing  in  mind  that  there  are  about  eleven  black  persons, 
counting  natives  only,  for  each  white  one,  remembering 
also  that  it  is  not  an  industrial  country  in  the  ordinary 
acceptance  of  the  term,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how 
employment  can  be  found  by  the  comparatively  few 
Europeans  for  this  vast  number  of  natives,  and  it  is  in- 
creasingly wonderful  when  we  find  that  their  labour 
was  not  sufficient  and  it  was  thought  necessary  to  supple- 
ment it  by  the  importation  of  indentured  Indian  labourers, 
who  now,  with  their  descendants,  considerably  out- 
number the  Europeans. 

Familiarity  with  these  extraordinary  conditions  blinds 
the  average  colonist  to  the  singularity  of  the  position, 
and  it  is  accepted  as  the  normal  condition  of  things. 
True,  the  Europeans  are  not  satisfied  with  the  practical 
outcome — labour  is  always  a  theme  of  conversation ;  but 
the  talk  revolves  about  the  details,  wages,  laziness, 
unreliability  of  the  workers — few  seem  to  see  the  singu- 
larity of  the  whole  situation. 

The  eff'ect  of  this  very  unusual  condition  of  things  on 
the  character  of  the  white  population  I  will  consider  at  a 
later  stage,  for  it  is  obvious  that  such  an  environment 
must  have  considerable  effect.  Meantime,  I  will  deal 
with  the  question  on  the  lower  plane,  and  try  to  give  some 
reasons  for  the  anomalies  that  are  present  among  us  in 
South  East  Africa  in  regard  to  labour. 

In  early  days  labour  was  abundant  and  wages  very 
low.  Life  was  extremely  easy  for  the  white  man.  He 
might  not  make  much  money,  but  he  could  easil}^  obtain 
all  that  was  necessary  for  existence,  and  there  was  no  call 
for  great  exertion — it  was  quite  simple,  when  necessary, 
to  get  the  native  to  make  the  exertion.  It  became  a  rule 
of  life  to  call  upon  the  native  to  do  everything  demanding 


i6o    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

physical  effort, — even  small  matters  for  which  no  real 
exertion  was  needed  were  regarded  as  the  duty  of  the 
black  man,  and  he  had  to  be  at  call  to  undertake  them. 
The  saddling  of  a  horse,  harnessing  a  trap,  carrying  a 
parcel,  going  an  errand,  were  all  relegated  to  the  boy.  A 
new-comer,  accustomed  to  do  all  these  things  for  himself, 
and  who  naturally  attempted  to  continue  to  do  the  same, 
was  on  all  hands  told  that  such  effort  was  unnecessary 
here ;  he  was  quickly  inoculated  with  our  system  by  being 
told — the  phrases  are  so  familiar — "Oh,  the  boy  will  do 
that  ";  or  "Oh,  leave  that  to  the  boy  ".  It  was  an  easy 
system,  easily  engrafted  on  all  who  entered  the  country, 
and  it  still  remains.  When  examined,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
see  that  this  attitude  and  what  it  entails  means  a  great 
waste  of  labour. 

It  fitted  in  exactly  with  the  ideas  of  the  native  on  the 
labour  question.  To  him  it  was  quite  in  keeping  with 
the  proper  order  of  things  that  the  white  man,  who  was 
a  great  'Nkosi,  should  keep  a  number  of  servants,  not 
necessarily  because  he  wants  them  for  definite  and  con- 
tinuous labour,  but  as  retainers,  as  a  chief  has  his  tail,  to 
keep  up  the  dignity  of  the  house.  And  partly  because  it 
was  so  easy,  and  in  part  because  the  native  played  up  to 
the  idea,  and  his  influence,  though  silent,  is  weighty,  you 
may  see  big,  strong,  capable  men  kept  from  really  useful 
and  suitable  labour  at  call  to  do  trifles,  because  of  what 
has  become  the  custom  of  the  country.  The  underlying 
idea,  that  the  black  must  be  available  and  at  call  when- 
ever wanted,  permeated  the  whole  relations  of  employer 
and  employed.  In  heavy  work,  stark  muscle  being  al- 
ways available,  little  thought  was  given  to  better  methods 
or  mechanical  aids  ;  the  presence  of  the  black  man  rendered 
this  unnecessary,  the  easiest  plan  was  simply  to  put  on 
more  natives. 

It  would  be  thought  that  the  influx  of  new  blood  used 
to  harder  conditions,  the  immigration  of  self-helpful  ones 
from  Northern  Europe  and  all-white  colonies,  would 
have  been  a  powerful  force  for  resisting  and  preventing 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        i6i 

this  custom  and  way  of  life  becoming  universally  adopted. 
Not  so,  even  common  observation  remarked  on  the  in- 
glorious way  in  which  the  new  comer  succumbed  to  the 
insidious  influence.  The  first  week  he  cleaned  his  own 
boots  and  walked  on  foot,  the  second  week  he  sent  a 
message  boy  to  tell  the  stable  boy  to  saddle  his  horse. 
The  European  at  his  own  special  and  particular  work — 
telegraphy,  typewriting,  book-keeping — at  which  the 
native  could  not  possibly  assist,  might  be  and  remain 
alert  and  energetic,  but  outside  of  that  the  boy  was  ever 
present,  ever  in  demand.  Strong,  able-bodied  men,  who, 
in  all-white  colonies,  would  necessarily  have  to  do  the 
work  of  men  gaining  skill  and  aptitude,  are  here,  much  to 
their  satisfaction,  kept  at  a  job  which  could  be  done  by  a 
maid-servant  or  office  boy — even  they  would  be  only 
partly  employed.  Examples  could  be  found  all  over  the 
colony  in  town  and  country  alike.  One  good  example 
may  be  seen  any  day  in  the  Colonial  Buildings  in  Pieter- 
maritzburg.  Here,  lounging  about  the  long  corridors,  or 
sitting  on  arm-chairs  (kindly  provided  by  Government) 
in  the  grassy  quadrangles,  may  be  seen  dozens  of  adult 
native  men,  generally  the  pick  of  their  race.  Huge, 
splendidly  built,  intelligent  fellows,  spotless  in  white 
canvas  suits,  they  add  a  dignity  to  their  surroundings 
were  it  not  indeed  for  the  incongruity  of  their  employ- 
ment. These  men,  fit  for  the  most  strenuous  physical 
toil,  any  one  of  whom  could  easily  carry  a  burden  fifty 
miles  a  day,  are  threading  beads  and  making  wire  bangles 
during  the  long  intervals  of  rest  between  the  calls  of  a 
white  office  boy  to  go  a  message  into  the  next  street. 
Any  day  in  Durban  or  Pietermaritzburg,  an  observant 
eye  can  notice  cases  of  waste  of  labour  by  the  score. 
Parcels  are  despatched  from  stores  by  natives  which  are 
insufficiently  addressed  and  without  proper  instruction  to 
the  native — the  phrase,  "  Oh,  the  boy  will  find  the  place 
somehow,"  indicates  the  attitude  adopted,  and  thus  hours 
are  wasted  ;  if  natives  were  not  so  plentiful  a  cart  and 
horse  would  deliver  the  lot  in  half  the  time.      A  dozen 

II 


i62    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

natives  are  sent  with  a  heavily  laden  cart  up  hills  and 
through  sand — they  never  complain  or  even  remonstrate 
— time  and  muscle  are  no  object,  and  they  always  arrive 
somehow,  but  in  no  country  where  labour  is  scarce  or 
highly  paid  could  such  a  waste  be  tolerated  ;  other  means 
of  transport  must  necessarily  be  found. 

After  a  two  years'  trip  in  Europe,  America,  and 
Australasia  I  returned  to  South  Africa.  As  the  steamer 
neared  the  dock  in  Durban  Bay  the  heavy  gangway  was 
being  pushed  into  position  by  nearly  fifty  black  men. 
Some  were  putting  their  weight  into  the  work,  the 
majority  just  there  to  make  the  quota.  I  had  not  seen 
such  a  sight  for  two  years,  and  it  vividly  brought  to  mind 
the  fact  that  I  was  back  in  Africa  once  more,  where  the 
black  man  sets  the  pace.  I  could  give  innumerable 
instances  of  the  extravagant  waste  of  labour  material 
going  on  all  over  South  East  Africa.  Any  observant 
person  may  see  them,  but  they  are  usually  not  noticed 
because  of  their  very  familiarity,  but  I  can  promise  any 
open-eyed  person  a  good  deal  of  amusement  and  infor- 
mation if  attention  is  devoted  to  this  subject. 

When  speaking  of  the  land,  attention  was  directed 
to  the  position  of  the  natives  as  tenants  and  as  labourers 
on  the  farms.  A  little  more  consideration  may  now  be 
given  to  this  from  the  labour  side  of  the  question. 
Although  their  homes  are  on  the  farms,  and  their  position 
is  that  of  tenants  under  agreement  to  work  thereon,  but 
few  are  expected  to  work  all  the  year  round.  As  they 
have  stock  and  gardens  of  their  own,  it  would  be  un- 
reasonable to  expect  all  those  capable  of  labour  to  do  so, 
their  own  tillage  and  affairs  require  some  of  their  time, 
and  this  is  admitted  by  the  employer.  But  the  system 
of  paying  a  low  wage,  lower  than  they  could  earn  else- 
where, for  six  months'  service  in  the  year  means,  in 
practice,  that  they  are  more  or  less  reluctant  or  even 
dissatisfied  labourers  and  do  not  put  their  heart  into 
their  work.  To  get  thoroughly  good  work,  kept  at  any- 
thing like  a  high  pitch  for  a  length  of  time  from  men  so 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        163 

situated,  is  very  difficult,  and  only  an  approximation  can 
be  obtained  by  constant  supervision  ;  evasion,  eye-service, 
and  malingering  are  constantly  going  on.  This  is  all  bad 
enough  when  the  six  months'  service  is  given  continu- 
ously, but  when,  as  pointed  out  before,  the  landowner 
and  employer  calls  out  his  natives  at  any  time  during  the 
twelve  months,  it  spells,  in  the  aggregate,  thousands  of 
natives  prevented  from  labouring  elsewhere  whether  they 
wished  to  do  so  or  not. 

The  acme  of  waste  is  reached  when,  as  is  so  often 
the  case,  the  native  is  working  out  a  debt.  A  boy  gets 
into  trouble,  he  has  been  heavily  fined  for  faction  fighting 
or  he  wants  an  advance  to  buy  some  cheap  cattle  towards 
his  lobolo,  or  he  is  a  spendthrift  and  borrows  to  buy 
some  coveted  article  in  the  store.  The  white  man  is 
willing  to  advance  the  necessary  or  desired  sum,  if  the 
native  will  agree  to  work  it  off  at  a  very  low  rate  of 
wages.  Unthrifty,  without  foresight,  careless  as  to  what 
he  may  contract  to  suffer  in  the  future,  if  the  present 
difficulty  may  be  met  or  gratification  obtained,  he  does 
agree,  often  for  a  term  far  longer  than  is  usual.  At  first 
he  may  work  fairly  well,  but  the  extended  term  begins  to 
pall,  he  has  not  the  satisfaction  of  handling  any  wages  at 
the  month's  end,  he  gets  lazy,  sullen,  evasive.  A  past 
master  in  the  art  of  passing  the  time  without  effort,  with 
nothing  to  occupy  his  mind  but  to  devise  the  most  effect- 
tive  way  of  dodging  his  work,  his  master  either  gives  up 
the  struggle  and  allows  him  to  do  as  he  likes  or  resorts 
to  violent  methods.  The  boy  deserts,  the  police  arrest 
him,  and  he  is  sentenced  to  a  term  in  gaol,  and,  his  sen- 
tence finished,  is  sent  back  to  his  master  to  work  out  the 
rest  of  his  time.  The  former  unsatisfactory  position  is 
now  rendered  acute,  his  disinclination  for  work  becomes 
a  very  loathing,  and  he  is  utterly  spoiled  for  honest 
labour.  The  amount  of  time  and  effort  thus  wasted,  the 
amount  of  labour  spoiled  by  this  pernicious  system,  is 
incalculable. 

On  some  farms,  where  perhaps  the  owner  has  a  per- 

1 1  * 


i64    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

sonality  liked  by  the  natives,  he  has  far  more  labour  than 
is  actually  necessary  for  his  operations.  Easy-going 
and  tolerant,  the  natives  flock  to  him,  and  he  employs  in 
casual  fashion,  and  to  their  satisfaction,  many  more  than 
he  really  needs,  and  thus  keeps  them  from  the  open 
labour  market.  I  know  farms  on  which  every  child,  boy 
and  girl,  has  its  attendant  native  umfaan  or  intombe,  who 
grows  up  with  it  in  the  fashion  of  the  Topsies  of  the  old 
Southern  States.  The  relations  in  such  cases  are  patriar- 
chal and  pleasant,  but  it  means  an  economic  waste  of  large 
proportions. 

The  presence  of  the  black  man  in  such  numbers  un- 
doubtedly prevents  or  retards  the  use  of  labour-saving 
appliances,  and  means  an  amount  of  physical  hand  labour 
for  results  that  would  be  astonishingly  meagre  to  the 
agriculturist  of  the  American  States  or  Australasia  ac- 
customed only  to  highly  paid  white  labour.  There  are 
progressive  agriculturists  in  South  East  Africa,  whose 
methods  and  machinery  are  up  to  the  standard  of  such 
countries,  but  undoubtedly,  the  tendency  is  to  employ  or 
have  command  of  a  far  larger  number  of  employees  and 
hangers-on  than  would  be  possible  in  a  country  with  a 
homogeneous  white  population. 

In  part  due  to  language  difficulties,  part  to  the  obtuse- 
ness  and  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  some  natives,  part  to 
the  carelessness  of  the  white  man,  and  in  larger  part  to 
the  fact  that  the  work  of  the  native  is  not  continuous  for 
a  length  of  time,  he  is  seldom  properly  instructed  in  the 
work  he  is  given  to  do,  and  he  has  little  help,  encourage- 
ment, or  even  supervision.  He  will  be  set  a  task  in  the 
morning,  often  by  word  of  mouth  only,  sent  to  a  distance 
unaccompanied.  He  surveys  the  job  and  according  to  his 
dim  lights  does  his  best.  Hours  or  even  days  pass,  and 
then  the  employer  comes  to  inspect  and  finds  the  whole 
business  upside  down.  According  to  temperament  he 
weeps  or  swears,  the  native  in  either  case  quite  bewildered 
at  the  happening.  He  thought  things  were  going  sweetly, 
or  never  thought  at  all,  and  this  demonstration  is  alto- 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN       165 

gether  inexplicable.  The  next  time  he  is  sent  to  a  job, 
he  undertakes  it  tentatively  and  witli  great  misgiving  as 
to  the  ultimate  verdict  on  his  effort,  and  doubtful  as  to 
results,  gingerly  does  as  little  as  possible.  Then  he  gets 
branded  as  incorrigibly  lazy. 

When  a  native  engages  with  a  white  man  willingly, 
on  terms  which  he  considers  satisfactory,  he  is  generally 
desirous  (it  is  an  integral  part  of  his  nature)  to  please  his 
employer.  A  gentle  demeanour,  an  obvious  desire  to  put 
the  native  on  the  right  lines,  encouragement  when  it  is 
deserved,  and  advice  from  time  to  time,  will  often  make 
a  native  active  and  intelligent  in  his  work  and  devoted  to 
his  master's  interest  for  the  time  he  remains  in  service. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  may  often  be  seen  that  an  abrupt 
manner,  hectoring,  and  the  absence  of  instruction,  recog- 
nition, and  advice,  will  put  a  boy  who  had  higher 
possibilities  at  once  into  the  dull  squad.  Much  too 
frequently  their  utter  ignorance  of  our  methods,  appliances, 
and  desires  are  forgotten  or  overlooked.  The  case  of 
the  boy  who  was  given  a  spade  and  wheel-barrow  to 
weed  and  clean  a  garden  path  may  be  mentioned.  He 
was  found  after  a  time  of  effort  and  probably  mental 
distress,  loosening  the  weeds  with  a  corner  of  the  spade 
(why  was  it  made  square  ?)  gathering  them  together 
with  his  fingers,  putting  them  in  the  barrow  and  then 
carrying  the  barrow  on  his  head  to  the  destination  of  the 
weeds ! 

There  is  little  inducement  for  him  to  improve  himself 
as  a  worker.  He  cannot  ascend  beyond  the  sphere  of 
labourer,  and  generally  speaking,  one  labourer  gets  the 
same  wage  as  the  rest.  True,  a  few  become  good  drivers, 
washermen,  expert  within  a  limited  round  as  brickla3'ers' 
labourers,  and  return  to  the  same  kind  of  employment  and 
earn  wages  somewhat  higher  than  usual.  The  majority 
are  at  one  spell  kitchen  boys,  at  the  next  togt  labourers, 
the  next  time  work  in  a  store,  learning  nothing  fully  and 
effectively  and  with  but  little  inducement  to  learn.  The 
few  who  return  to  the  same  employer  and  who  are  fortun- 


i66    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

ate  enough  to  find  a  master  who  takes  an  interest  in  them 
and  instructs  them  in  their  work  are  admirable  servants, 
trustworthy,  intelligent,  clean,  often  hardworking  and 
always  uncomplaining.  The  drawback  is  the  recurrence 
of  the  visit  to  the  kraal,  but,  in  many  cases,  a  capable 
substitute  is  always  provided  by  the  home-goer  before  he 
leaves,  and  on  the  return  of  the  old  boy  he  takes  in  turn  his 
holiday.  Some  of  the  old  Natal  families  have  natives 
who  began  as  boys  and  have  grown  to  be  old  men  in  their 
service,  whose  service  is  admirable,  and  whose  loyal 
devotion  to  their  old  employers  is  touching.  I  have 
natives  working  for  me  who  have  not  served  elsewhere, 
and  who  have  been  in  my  service  for  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  years,  and  who  are  to-day  as  respectful,  trust- 
worthy, and  altogether  dependable  as  ever  they  were. 
Often  have  they  been  left  for  months  together,  the  house 
open,  and  everything  in  their  charge,  and  on  our  return 
all  found  as  when  it  was  left.  On  one  occasion  the  ab- 
sence of  the  family  in  Europe  extended  to  two  3'ears  and 
a  half;  and,  all  the  household  possessions  left  open,  the 
natives  in  charge  accounted  for  everything  to  the  smallest 
detail. 

Except  in  the  small  up-country  towns  and  on  the  farms, 
native  female  domestic  servants  are  the  exception.  There 
are  many  thousands  of  big  strong  boys  and  able-bodied 
men  engaged  in  domestic  service  whose  work  in  white 
countries  would  be  done  by  European  women.  This 
domestic  service  includes  the  care  of  young  children,  and 
too  often  brings  them  into  close  and  intimate  relation  with 
domestic  arrangements,  secrets  of  the  household,  which 
should  be  sacred  to  the  members  of  the  family.  The  boy, 
too  often,  is  considered  not  to  count,  and  sees  much  that 
cannot  raise  the  status  and  prestige  of  the  white  man  in 
his  eyes. 

The  evils  connected  with  such  a  state  of  things  is  one 
of  the  few  phases  of  the  native  question  which  has  from 
time  to  time  really  aroused  the  attention  of  the  white 
public.     Letters   appear  in   the  press  and  demands  are 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        167 

made  that  the  Government  and  Legislature  should  de- 
vise means  whereby  these  men  should  be  released  for  the 
work  of  men,  the  evils  attendant  on  the  employment  of 
male  nurses  for  young  children  be  avoided,  and  women  be 
obtained  to  do  what  is  elsewhere  the  work  of  women.  It 
is  hardly  likely  that  the  change  desired  will  be  effected 
until  a  radical  alteration  is  made  in  the  household  arrange- 
ments now  prevalent,  both  in  town  and  country.  Fathers 
and  kraal  heads  absolutely  refuse  to  allow  their  girls 
to  leave  their  homes  to  come  and  live  in  town,  and  incur 
all  the  temptations  incident  to  the  town  life  of  a  native 
girl.  Occasionally  they  may  be  allowed  to  visit  their 
malerelations  at  v/ork  in  the  town,  but  always  accompanied 
by  a  male  relative.  The  guardians  of  the  girls  feel  that, 
away  from  parental  control  and  the  discipline  of  home  life, 
open  to  the  attentions  of  all  the  wastrels  who  gravitate 
into  town,  the  risks  are  far  too  great.  And  they  are  right. 
The  ordinary  householder  provides  a  sleeping  place  for 
his  natives  away  from  the  main  building,  often  small,  of 
poor  construction  and  not  too  clean,  a  single  room  for  all 
the  employees.  The  scruples  of  the  fathers  and  the 
hesitation  of  the  conscientious  European  to  employ  girls 
unless  these  conditions  are  radically  altered  can  be  well 
understood.  If  girls  are  employed  it  would  be  necessary 
to  provide  a  bedroom  inside  the  house,  and  the  employer 
must  undertake  responsibilities  from  which  he  is  entirely 
free  in  the  case  of  male  servants.  Some  recreation  during 
the  day  time  must  be  provided  for  the  girls,  and  some 
arrangements  for  the  satisfaction  of  their  strong  social 
instincts.  At  present  the  morals  and  amusements  of  the 
boys  are  a  matter  of  small  moment  to  the  emplo^-er,  and  a 
much  more  stringent  supervision  would  be  necessary  if  he 
was  replaced  by  girls. 

This  change  would  also  mean,  in  many  ways,  another 
point  of  contact  between  the  races,  a  closer  impact  about 
which  I  will  have  more  to  say  later  on.  Meantime  it  is 
clear  that  the  labour  available  for  what  is  rightly  con- 
sidered the   proper  work   of  men   is   materially   reduced 


i68    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

by  the  domestic  arrangements  familiar  to  South  East 
Africa. 

All  told,  there  are  some  thousands  of  the  finest  of  the 
Abantu  race  employed,  and  thus  prevented  from  taking 
other  employment,  by  the  introduction  and  use  of  the 
ricksha  in  South  East  Africa.  In  Durban  alone,  there 
have  been  as  many  as  2600  under  licence  at  one  time,  and 
this  in  a  town  of  only  some  30,000  white  inhabitants,  who 
are  practically  the  only  ones  using  the  ricksha.  In  the 
same  town  there  is  an  up-to-date  system  of  electric  tram 
cars  covering  many  miles  of  track  and  with  cabs  and 
motors  plying  for  hire.  The  number  of  natives  under 
licence  at  any  one  time  does  not  represent  all  the  labour 
absorbed  by  this  employment ;  there  are  probably  at  least 
as  many  resting  at  their  kraals,  who  will  return  to  this 
employment  and  who  never  engage  in  another  calling. 
Engaged  in  this  calling  are  some  of  the  finest  adult  speci- 
mens of  the  natives, — apparently  the  tremendous  exertion 
required  develops  the  muscular  system  enormously,  many 
of  the  pullers  showing  great  muscular  power.  The  work, 
though  extremely  arduous  at  times,  is  intermittent,  and 
the  puller  can,  at  any  time  during  day  or  night,  retire 
from  work  should  he  so  desire  it.  This  liberty  and  the 
high  wages  which  can  at  times  be  earned,  together  with 
the  absence  of  control  by  an  immediate  master,  makes  it 
very  attractive  to  natives  who  are  capable  of  undertaking 
the  exertion  necessary.  It  is  stated  on  good  authority, 
that  the  exposure  to  all  weathers  (there  are  no  ricksha 
boys'  shelters),  excessive  perspiration  followed  possibly 
by  a  period  of  inactivity,  sometimes  in  cold  winds  or 
pouring  rain,  bring  on  lung  trouble,  and  that  many  suffer 
from  it. 

To  what  extent  this  is  the  case  is  not  accurately  known, 
but  it  seems  undoubtedly  an  evil  attendant  on  this  em- 
ployment, and  there  are  others  of  a  diff'erent  kind.  The 
ordinary  natives  working  in  town  are  supposed  to  be 
within  doors  at  9  p.m.  when  a  bell  is  rung,  and  any 
wandering  the  streets  after  that  hour  are  liable  to  arrest 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        169 

unless  they  can  show  a  pass  for  the  evening  signed  by  a 
responsible  European.  Not  so  the  ricksha  boy.  Presum- 
ably because  he  is  plying  his  calling  for  the  convenience 
and  comfort  of  the  white  man,  he  is  not  subject  to  the  cur- 
few regulations.  He  remains  out  till  the  early  hours, 
taking  home  the  theatre-goers,  and  picking  up  the  stray 
ones  who  have  been  passing  the  night  in  other  ways. 
Drunkenness  is  not  more  rife  in  the  towns  of  South  East 
Africa  than  elsewhere,  but  it  is  a  humiliating  sight  to  see 
a  steady-faced,  self-respecting  native,  with  a  white  man 
huddled  up  in  his  jinricksha,  trying  to  find  out  from  the 
passer-by  where  he  shall  deliver  his  incoherent  burden. 
Thus  he  is  brought  intimately  into  the  life  of  the  white 
man  and  woman  at  its  lowest,  and  even  when  this  is  not 
the  case,  what  he  sees  and  learns  is  not  likely  to  strengthen 
his  respect  for  the  white  race.  For  our  own  comfort  and 
convenience,  to  make  our  easy  lives  still  easier  we  are 
willing  to  admit  the  black  man  within  our  secret  doors. 
When  our  comfort  and  convenience  are  not  at  stake  he 
must  not  darken  the  kerb  of  the  footway. 

In  Durban  and  other  towns  in  Natal  there  is  a  system 
of  licensing  natives  as  day  labourers,  who  are  locally 
known  as  togt  boys.  They  are  usually  men  of  mature 
age,  recognized  by  the  municipalities,  and  the  licence 
which  empowers  them  to  remain  in  town  and  tout  for 
work  costs  5s.  per  month;  2300  licences  are,  at  the  present 
time,  taken  out  in  Durban  alone.  At  one  time  as  many 
as  7200  were  current.  The  corporation  provide  barracks 
for  their  accommodation,  but  all  these  natives  do  not  take 
advantage  of  them.  The  balance  of  these  day  workers, 
in  native  fashion,  find  lodging  with  brothers,  occupied  as 
monthly  servants,  on  the  premises  provided  by  the  em- 
ployers of  the  latter,  who  are  also  often  mulcted  in  some  of 
the  food  provided  for  their  own  servants,  by  these  their 
friends  and  relatives.  The  day  wages  of  the  togt  boys 
are  supposed  to  be  fixed  by  the  municipal  authorities, 
and  any  burgess  can  demand  their  services  at  the 
fixed    rate,    though    in   practice   it    is   made  the  subject 


170    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

of  private  bargain.  The  system,  though  convenient  to 
those  whose  labour  demands  are  intermittent,  conduces 
to  irregular  habits  of  life  and  work.  During  a  brisk  spell 
those  men  make  more  than  they  would  as  regular  servants, 
but  often  they  are  unemployed  and  roam  the  town  wast- 
ing their  time.  Like  ricksha-pulling,  it  suits  the  native 
temperament,  but  like  that,  it  entails  a  considerable 
wastage  of  otherwise  excellent  material,  which,  trained 
and  systematized,  would  be  of  much  more  value  to  the 
community  and  to  themselves. 

We  can  now  perhaps  begin  to  understand  some  of 
the  facts  which  go  to  explain  the  anomalous  condition  of 
things  in  South  East  Africa,  where,  with  a  huge  prepon- 
derating native  population,  labour  is  always  in  demand 
and  it  is  seldom  the  demand  is  fully  met. 

Beyond  any  yet  mentioned,  however,  is  the  great 
opportunity  for  employment  on  the  gold  mines  of  the  Wit- 
watersrand  and  in  the  town  of  Johannesburg.  Hundreds 
of  thousands  of  natives  gathered  from  all  parts  of  Africa 
here  meet.  From  the  Portuguese  province  of  Mozam- 
bique come  the  larger  number,  but  Natal,  Zululand, 
Basutoland,  the  Transkei,  Swaziland,  Bechuanaland,  the 
Waterberg,  and  Zoutpansberg  districts  of  the  Transvaal 
all  contribute  largely.  Southern  Rhodesia,  far-away 
Barotseland  and  Nyassaland  also  supply  their  quota,  and 
I  suppose  if  diligent  search  was  made,  representatives 
of  all  the  black  races  south  of  the  Equator  could  be  found 
in  this  welter  of  the  tribes.  I  have  spoken  of  the  work- 
ing of  the  breaking-down  process  going  on  over  South 
East  Africa  by  reason  of  the  contact  of  black  and  white, 
and  the  influence  of  thenew  conditions  upon  his  character, 
manners,  and  morals.  Here  in  the  gold-mining  area, 
it  is  magnified  and  accelerated,  it  is  fairly  whirling  the 
native  out  of  the  old  and  into  the  new.  For  the  white 
man  to  walk  the  streets  and  live  the  life  of  Johannesburg, 
requires  a  steady  head  and  moral  purpose  and  a  fibre 
that  is  not  easily  relaxed ;  for  the  native,  fresh  from  his 
kraal,  it  means  utter  subversion  of  all  he  has  thought,  a 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        171 

reversal  of  his  ideas,  a  panorama  of  rapidly  moving 
pictures  he  cannot  understand  or  assimilate.  Accustomed 
at  home  to  meet  only  the  family  and  neighbours,  he  here 
meets  men  of  his  own  colour  whose  homes  are  thousands 
of  miles  apart.  Zulu  meets  with  Angoni,  Fingo  with 
Swazi,  Basuto  with  Damara.  The  occasional  white  man 
he  saw  in  the  far-off  location  is  represented  here  by  a 
swarming  crowd,  engaged  in  all  manner  of  perplexing 
activities  and  indulging  in  gratifications  never  before 
associated  in  his  mind  with  the  idea  of  a  white  man. 
The  majority  return  to  their  kraals  full  of  the  new  ideas, 
and  form  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  the  change  of  life 
which  is  going  on  among  the  Abantu.  Some  never 
return,  they  fall  victims  to  the  charms  of  the  kaleido- 
scopic life,  and  become  men  about  town  ;  forgetting  their 
homes,  they  form  casual  acquaintances,  spend  all  their 
earnings  in  tailor-made  clothes,  women,  and  drink,  and 
go  to  make  a  factor  in  the  native  question  we  have  not 
heretofore  experienced,  but  which  will  complicate  it  as 
such  increase  in  numbers.  Like  the  ricksha-boy,  they 
are  learning  all  the  worst  of  the  white  man,  we  are  ex- 
posing our  secret  sins,  of  which  we  are  ashamed,  to  them, 
and  yet  expect  their  respect  and  the  prestige  that  belongs 
to  well-doing. 

The  ready  way  in  which  the  native  has  met  the  tre- 
mendously increased  demands  upon  his  labours,  since  the 
deportation  of  the  Chinese,  is  unexpected  and  wonderful, 
and  it  is  likely  that  a  still  larger  number  will  find  work 
on  the  Witwatersrand.  I  say  it  iswonderful  how  he  has 
responded,  because,  though  the  mineowners  were  entirely 
dependent  on  the  native  for  unskilled  labour,  they  have 
often,  and  in  many  ways,  taken  action,  or  refrained  from 
action,  that  in  either  case  meant  retarding  the  flow  of 
labour.  They  have  asked  the  public  to  believe  that  ever}- 
consideration  has  been  given  to  the  natives  recruited  for 
the  mines,  and  every  facility  and  reasonable  amelioration 
provided,  from  the  time  they  left  their  kraals  until  their 
return  thither.     It  seems   singular  that   this   is   not   so. 


172    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Singular,  because  the  gold  industry  being  so  dependent 
on  native  labour,  and  in  the  hands  of  such  astute  men  of 
business,  it  seems  almost  impossible  to  think  that  every 
device  or  expedient  necessary  to  secure  the  labour,  and 
every  possible  consideration  when  it  was  got,  should  not 
have  been  put  into  operation.  Yet  the  fact  is  that  the 
natives  were  often  treated  as  if  the  design  of  the  employer 
was  to  make  sure  they  would  never  return  to  work  on 
the  Randt.  One  essential  factor  in  dealing  with  natives 
is  that  all  promises  made  when  the  recruiter  engaged 
them  should  be  fulfilled  to  the  letter.  Yet  natives  were 
engaged  at  rates  of  pay  they  never  received,  bound  by 
conditions  that  were  never  explained  and  which  they  did 
not  understand,  and  their  prejudices  and  susceptibilities 
ridden  over  rough-shod.  Quite  lately,  investigation  has 
been  made  by  the  authorities,  and  many  ameliorations  and 
reforms  suggested  of  which  some  have  been  put  into 
operation.  With  better  conditions,  if  men  who  under- 
stand and  are  trusted  by  them  are  over  them  or  available 
to  them,  and  if  their  peculiarities  are  studied  and  have 
consideration,  the  high  pay  they  receive  will  tempt  more 
and  more  to  the  Randt.  Every  native  who  leaves  the 
mines,  fully  satisfied  with  the  treatment  he  has  received, 
will  act  as  a  tout,  and  I  believe  if  the  above-mentioned 
reforms  are  made,  and  the  subject  studied  as  it  deserves 
to  be,  the  numbers  of  natives  from  the  parts  of  South 
East  Africa  with  which  we  are  dealing  who  will  seek 
employment  on  the  Randt,  will  be  very  largely  increased 
in  the  future. 

It  seems  probable  that  there  will,  ere  long,  be  a  con- 
flict between  the  gold  industry  and  the  landowners  and 
employers  of  labour  in  other  parts  of  South  East  Africa. 
The  former  assert  that,  under  Union,  they  have  an  equal 
right  with  all  others  to  employ  the  labour  of  the  Union, 
and  to  use  all  lawful  inducements  by  the  employment  of 
touts  and  agents  to  attract  it  to  the  Randt ;  the  latter, 
that  the  natives  living  in  their  districts  are  their  natural 
labourers,  and  the  local  requirements  should  be  first  sup- 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        173 

plied.  Very  strongly  do  the  landowners,  who  have  been 
accustomed  to  abundant  native  labour  at  low  wages, 
resent  the  incoming  of  the  tout,  who  is  so  successful  in 
persuading  the  local  natives  to  leave  for  the  Randt.  In 
many  cases  the  labour  agent  or  tout  gives  large  advances 
in  cattle  or  coin,  often  making  considerable  profits  on  the 
advances.  In  cases,  some  loan  of  reasonable  amount  and 
at  a  fair  rate  of  interest,  is  a  benefit  to  the  native  and 
necessary  in  order  to  enable  him  to  provide  for  his  family 
during  his  absence.  But  the  eagerness  of  the  agent  to 
secure  his  services  has  opened  the  eyes  of  the  native  to 
his  value  and  importance,  and  large  advances  so  easily 
secured  have  aroused  his  cupidity.  Cases  are  frequent 
in  which  demoralized  ones,  after  obtaining  their  cash,  have 
disappeared,  and  others  in  which  the  same  native  gets 
loans  from  different  agents  for  the  same  period  of  work. 
The  result  has  been  a  serious  lowering  of  the  moral 
standard  in  some  districts,  and  an  increased  tendency  to 
the  repudiation  of  contracts  and  obligations. 

To  the  average  white  man  in  South  East  Africa,  who 
feels  that  he  could  in  his  own  person  make  more  money, 
and  that  the  development  of  the  country  would  advance 
apace  if  he  could  get  unlimited  labour  at  his  own  price, 
the  reasons  for  the  present  state  of  affairs  are  clear, 
and  must,  he  thinks,  be  debited  to  the  native.  It  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  black  man  is  indolent  and  will  not  leave 
his  idle  home-life  in  sufficient  numbers,  and  when  he  does 
leave  only  works  for  short  spells.  We  have  seen  that  there 
are  other  factors  in  the  problem,  for  which  not  the  native 
but  the  white  man  is  responsible.  We  find  there  is  an 
enormous  waste  of  labour  by  reason  of  the  traditions 
and  methods  of  the  past,  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  any 
attempt  to  teach  and  utilize  it  to  the  best  advantage,  that 
much  is  employed  in  manner  that  is  uneconomic,  human 
labour  being  used  instead  of  animals  or  mechanical  appli- 
ances. Also,  in  order  to  suit  the  convenience  of  land- 
owners, workers  are  prevented  seeking  the  open  market. 
A  bar  being   placed   by  public  opinion  across  the  road 


174    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

leading  to  the  more  skilled  and  highly  paid  employments, 
the  stimulus  to  well-directed  effort  to  rise  does  not  operate. 
And  the  enormous  and  increasing  demand  upon  the  Randt, 
absorbing  so  many,  is  a  factor  to  be  remembered. 

And  above  all,  the  fact  that  the  native  has  his  respon- 
sibilities to  his  home  and  relatives,  and  that  here  centre 
his  congenial  activities,  must  be  borne  in  mind.  In  the 
last  full  census  of  Natal,  under  the  head  of  "  Occupations 
of  the  people  "  the  following  figures  and  remarks  are  given 
which  apply  to  natives  alone  : — 


Occupations — Divisions. 

Persons. 

Males. 

Females. 

"  All  classes 

. 

904,04! 

426,766 

477.275 

Bread  winners  classes 

I  to  7 

.     566,299 

263,506 

302,733 

Dependants  8     . 

• 

.     3J7.742 

163,200 

174,542 

Nature  of  Service. 

Class. 

Persons. 

Males. 

Females. 

Personal     and     im- 

fi  Professional 

1,702 

1,702 

— 

material 

\2  Domestic 

40,281 

30,049 

10,232 

Distribution         and 

f3  Commercial 
\ 4  Transport 

2,181 

2,181 

— 

transport 

7,810 

7,810 

— 

5   Industrial 

10,378 

10,378 

— 

6  Primary  prodi 

jcers         503.947 

211,446 

292,501 

7  Indefinite 

— 

— 

— 

8  Dependants 

337.742 

163,200 

174.542 

"Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  native  male  bread- 
winners show  approximately  6176  per  cent  of  the  native 
male  population  and  the  native  female  breadwinners  63*43 
per  cent  of  the  native  female  population.  These  figures, 
which  have  been  arrived  at  after  a  most  careful  computa- 
tion, clearly  indicate  that  the  natives  of  this  colony  con- 
tribute very  considerably  to  their  own  support  and  are 
largely  identified  with  the  agricultural  pursuits  of  the 
country.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  natives  of  this 
colony  produce  annually  approximately  : — 

700,000  muids  of  mealies, 
6,000       ,,       ,,  round  potatoes, 
15,000      ,,       ,,  beans, 

122,000       ,,       ,,  sweet  potatoes, 

427,000       ,,       ,,   Kaffir  corn, 
not  to  mention  other  products   such  as   sugar,  tobacco, 
pumpkins,  etc.,  and  that  they  own  and  are  in  possession 
of  live  stock  representing  approximately  : — 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        175 

343,159  horned  cattle, 

21,851  horses, 

26,706  wooJled  sheep, 
105,144  other  sheep, 
797.259  goats, 

50,461  pigs, 
612,709  poultry  (various), 

together  with  agricultural  implements  which  show  a  very 
creditable  return  in  point  of  numbers  : — 

1,700  wagons  and  carts, 
20,000  ploughs, 
1,000  harrows, 
100  mealie  shellers  and  threshing  machines, 

and  a  number  of  other  farming  implements.  Although 
the  natives  do  not  always  labour  in  directions  which 
may  be  regarded  by  some  as  the  best  in  the  interests  of 
the  colony,  they  cannot  be  looked  upon  as  a  lazy 
people." 

Still  and  all,  the  whole  responsibility  must  not  be 
placed  on  the  white  man ;  the  average  man  is  right,  the 
native  is  congenitally  indolent.  His  best  friends  would 
not  claim  that  he  loved  work  for  work's  sake  or  was  a 
reliable  or  continuous  labourer.  He  has  a  genius  for 
passing  the  time  pleasantly  without  worrying  or  suffer- 
ing from  ennui.  He  is  splendid  at  a  burst,  but  he  cannot 
last ;  he  will  and  must  have  a  rest  at  his  kraal — no  induce- 
ment after  a  certain  time  will  keep  him  from  it.  But 
surely  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  this.  Away  from  home 
with  all  its  pleasures,  living  in  squalid  and  unfamiliar 
surroundings,  his  associates  strangers,  often  from  distant 
tribes,  his  food,  though  plentiful,  exceedingly  monotonous 
and  less  agreeable  than  that  of  his  home,  with  little  or 
unfrequent  opportunity  to  communicate  with  his  folks,  it 
is  no  wonder  that  he  is  constrained  to  return  to  his  kraal 
after  a  few  months'  labour.  The  fact  that  "le  is  away 
from  his  home  when  at  work  is  one  factor,  that  he  has  a 
(distant   home  calling  him   is  another,  and  the  latter  is 


176    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

perhaps  the  principal  operating  cause  for  the  casual 
nature  of  the  labour  given  to  European  employers  by  the 
natives. 

The  white  man's  home  is  alongside  his  work,  every 
evening  he  returns  to  wife  and  family  ;  but  the  black  man 
must  leave  all  that  home  is  to  him  if  he  takes  service 
with  an  employer.  This  largely  explains  why  his  labour 
is  not  continuous,  and  why  the  conditions  of  housing  and 
accommodation  provided  by  the  employer  are  often  so 
faulty.  Many  who  recognize  this  fact  feel  that  the  labour 
question  will  never  be  on  a  satisfactory  basis  while  the 
native  is  thus  rendered  independent  by  having  a  home 
to  which  he  can  retire,  and  where,  if  he  cannot  live  in 
affluence,  he  is  able  to  satisfy  his  simple  wants  without 
feeling  the  pinch  of  necessity  which  forces  the  white 
man  to  industry.  It  is  probable  that  in  time  to  come, 
as  the  expansion  and  development  of  the  country  pro- 
gress, the  labour  requirements  will  become  more  insistent 
and  the  scarcity  become  more  acutely  felt.  Aware  that 
one  chief  cause  of  the  independence  of  the  native  is  due 
to  areas  being  reserved  in  which  he  can  live  his  own  life, 
without  the  necessity,  ever  present  outside  these  areas, 
of  having  to  labour  for  wages,  agitation  may  be  directed 
to  the  breaking  up  of  the  locations  on  the  plea  that  it  is 
demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  the  situation,  and,  more 
plausibly,  that  it  is  in  the  real  interests  of  the  natives 
themselves  that  they  should  become  steady  workers 
instead  of  casual  labourers,  that  only  along  this  line 
lies  their  true  development  and  permanent  betterment. 
Already  one  hears  the  argument :  the  white  man,  forced 
by  his  needs,  must  work  twelve  months  in  the  year.  A 
paternal  Government  does  not  provide  him  with  land 
which  gives  him  the  opportunity  to  idle  for  half  his  time  ; 
and  why  should  the  native  be  placed  in  this  position, 
retarding  his  own  development  and  that  of  the  country? 
Let  the  locations  be  broken  up. 

For  any  such  remedy  I  hold  we  should  pay  far  too 
dearly.     It  may  be  that  for  a  time  labour  would  become 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        \T] 

more  plentiful  and  wages  fall,  but  a  revolution  in  the 
habits  of  a  people,  divorcing  them  from  a  life  healthy  and 
controlled,  and  transforming  them  into  dwellers  in  uncon- 
genial surroundings,  would  be  to  court  disasters  far 
greater  than  the  inconvenience  we  now  suffer.  Already, 
the  young  people,  the  present  generation,  as  I  have 
pointed  out,  are  being  liberated  from  the  salutary  rules 
and  customs  which  guarded  the  lives  of  their  fathers,  and 
the  further  emancipation,  which  would  necessarily  follow 
such  a  violent  change  of  life  and  environment  would  be 
disastrous,  and  probably  result  in  our  towns  and 
industrial  centres  being  overrun  by  a  horde  of  vaga- 
bonds, unrestrained  by  any  ties  or  control  excepting  the 
law  of  the  white  man,  not  understood  and  unrecognized. 
Such  a  contact  with  ourselves  as  this  would  imply,  though 
no  one  can  predict  its  actual  results,  would  in  the  main 
be  maleficent.  For  our  own  ultimate  good,  as  I  shall 
try  to  show,  the  points  of  contact  of  the  races  are  already 
too  many  and  too  close,  and  to  multiply  and  intensify 
them  for  what  is,  at  bottom,  our  economic  gain,  is  a  policy 
likely  to  be  fraught  with  evil  for  both  races.  The  eas}- 
way  is  the  perilous  way. 

The  home  life  of  a  race,  built  up  by  the  best  that  is  in  it, 
should  be  a  sacred  trust ;  we  may  try  to  improve  it  by 
thoughtful  care  and  by  our  wider  experience,  but  our  object 
must  be  to  conserve  and  not  destroy.  The  home  life  of 
the  Abantu  at  its  best  is  moral  and  healthy,  bound  to 
the  wholesome  land,  and  no  sophistry  or  desire  for  gain 
should  induce  us  to  endorse  a  line  of  action  that  would 
ruthlessly  break  in  upon  it. 

A  system  of  taxation,  by  which  remission  shall  be 
obtained  in  proportion  to  the  time  during  which  the  native 
shall  have  worked  for  a  European  employer,  has  found 
many  advocates.  The  idea  is  that  an  extremely  heav}- 
per  capita  tax  shall  be  imposed  on  all  able-bodied  natives 
capable  of  work.  A  reduction  is  to  be  made  for  every 
month  of  labour  for  a  European  master,  such  reduction 
increasing  proportionately  with  the  months  worked,  until 

12 


178    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

when,  say  nine  or  ten  have  been  put  in,  the  impost  is 
cancelled.  The  amount  is  to  be  so  calculated  that  it 
will  be  practically  impossible  for  the  ordinary  native  to 
remain  at  home  for  the  whole  year,  either  unemployed, 
or  solely  working  for  his  own  benefit.  At  first  sight 
such  a  scheme  seems  to  promise  a  large  increase  of  avail- 
able labour,  a  direct  inducement  amounting  to  compulsion 
which  could  not  be  evaded.  The  first  and  most  natural 
objection  is  the  instinctive  dislike  we  all  have  to  any 
process  that  even  indirectly  savours  of  compulsion.  If 
a  man  does  not  work,  neither  shall  he  eat,  has  been  re- 
garded as  the  only  pressure  that  should  be  applied.  That 
this  does  not  operate  with  the  same  harshness  in  the  case 
of  the  Abantu,  does  not  abrogate  it.  His  wants  are  few 
and  simple,  but  work  he  must,  either  directly  for  himself 
or  for  an  employer.  The  time  and  effort  required  may  be 
small,  but  hunger  will  follow  idleness  and  the  penalty 
will  be  demanded. 

Here  I  may  remark  on  one  phase  of  the  question,  for 
which  the  black  man,  did  he  know  all  the  circumstances 
in  other  and  more  civilized  lands,  might  claim  some  credit. 
If  through  idleness  or  circumstances  over  which  he  has 
no  control,  he  suffers  from  lack  of  food,  he  does  not  ex- 
pect relief  from  those  who  are  more  fortunate,  from  the 
rates,  or  from  Government.  He  regards  it  as  his  own 
affair,  he  tightens  his  belt,  grows  thin,  makes  no  com- 
plaint, and  philosophically  waits  until  times  are  better  and 
then  makes  up  for  his  lost  opportunities.  This  simple 
philosophy  carries  him  through. 

But  there  are  other  considerations  besides  our  natural 
dislike  to  forced  labour.  As  a  willing  worker  the  native 
is  not  without  his  virtue,  as  an  unwilling  one  he  is  hope- 
less. The  dead  weight  with  which  he  can  counteract  all 
attempts  on  the  part  of  his  employer  to  obtain  satisfactory 
results,  is  marvellous — it  is  a  natural  gift.  Forced  out  by 
the  action  of  the  white  man  to  work  for  him,  his  pre- 
tended labour  would  be  a  constant  source  of  aggravation. 
No  land  in  which  the  industries  were  based  on  such  a 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        179 

class  of  labour  could  ever  compete  with  countries  in 
which  it  was  intelligent  and  voluntary.  Even  the  labour 
we  have  at  present,  unsatisfactory  in  many  respects, 
would  suffer  deterioration.  One  shirker  in  a  gang  affects 
the  standard  of  the  whole,  especially  in  a  people  so 
imitative  as  the  Abantu ;  and  I  can  well  imagine  even  the 
present  low  economic  value  of  his  work  being  reduced  all 
over  the  country  by  the  inclusion  of  a  number  of  men 
who  only  turned  out  under  the  compulsion  of  such  a  law. 

Again,  such  a  measure  would  imply  that  the  only  in- 
dustry of  any  value  to  the  State  which  could  be  given  by 
the  Abantu  was  that  given  through  the  medium  of  a 
European  employer.  This  is  untrue :  any  edict  which 
presumed  it  would  be  unjust,  and  such  a  dictum,  pro- 
nounced or  implied,  must  be  resisted  to  the  uttermost. 
Their  cultivation  of  the  soil,  as  I  have  shown,  is  primitive 
and  slovenly,  their  stock  unthrifty,  but  they  feed  them- 
selves, and  grow  something  which  goes  to  support  the 
general  population.  A  man  may  not  be  fully  occupied  at 
his  kraal,  but  he  has  some  work  to  do,  and  many  duties  to 
his  family  to  fulfil.  He  may,  by  the  manner  in  which  he 
rules  those  dependent  upon  him  and  assists  to  maintain 
law  and  order,  be  exercising  functions  of  value  to  the 
State.  Is  his  conduct  to  be  judged  solely  by  an  artificial 
standard  which  excludes  any  consideration  of  these  sav- 
ing graces  ?  And,  though  the  bulk  of  the  natives  do  re- 
gard home  as  a  place  of  rest  and  quiet  retirement  after 
their  labours  for  the  white  man,  many  are  industrious 
and  spend  their  lives  as  small  farmers,  and  judged  from 
the  economic  side  only  are  of  more  value  to  the  com- 
munity than  if  labouring  for  an  employer.  To  show  its 
appreciation  of  such  praiseworthy  effort  the  State  would 
place  on  the  backs  of  these  men  a  burden  calculated  to 
break  them. 

Again,  it  is  an  axiom  in  native  administration  that 
no  obligations  should  be  imposed  on  these  people  which 
cannot  be  rigidly  enforced.  The  effect  of  inability,  through 
any   cause,    to    make    the   law    good,    is    to    loosen    all 

1 2  * 


i8o    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

authority.  Once  they  feel  they  may  with  impunity  defy  or 
evade  the  law,  the  power  to  control  dissolves  into  thin 
air.  With  a  population  such  as  ours,  I  cannot  imagine 
any  machinery  which  would  effectively  and  impartially 
collect  this  impost  and  allow  the  rebates.  The  white 
population  of  South  East  Africa  is  certainly  as  scrupulous 
as  most  elsewhere,  but  this  enactment  would  place  it  in 
the  power  of  a  European  to  remit  the  tax  for  any  native. 
A  mere  statement  that  a  black  man  had  worked  for  him, 
a  statement  which  would  cost  nothing  and  could  not 
easily  be  checked,  would  be  worth  pounds  to  the  latter. 
Is  it  likely  that  all  white  men  would  be  above  the 
temptation  to  make  money  so  easily  out  of  the  necessities 
of  the  black  man  ?  Or,  if  not  willing  to  commit  fraud  for 
gain,  a  feeling  of  sympathy  for  a  hard  case,  a  desire  to 
help  a  native  acquaintance,  especially  as  it  would  cost 
nothing  and  it  was  only  Government  who  would  suffer, 
would  appeal  to  some  and  thus  cause  collusion  between 
black  and  white  to  evade  the  law. 

No,  there, are  no  short  cuts  to  increase  the  contribution 
of  the  native  in  this  direction  to  the  economic  well-being 
of  the  body  politic.  If,  instead  of  fixing  our  attention  on 
our  present  labour  difficulties,  we  look  back  a  score  or  more 
years,  we  will  surely  acknowledge  that  the  quantit}',  and 
even  the  quality,  of  the  labour  he  provides  is  far  in  advance 
of  what  it  then  was.  His  wants  have  increased,  and  he 
is  working  in  greater  numbers  and  for  longer  spells  of 
time  to  satisfy  these  wants.  It  is  one  of  the  sweeping- 
generalizations,  still  current,  but  born  of  past  observation, 
which  says  :  A  native  only  wants  a  certain  amount  of 
money — sufficient  to  buy  cattle  with  which  to  procure 
wives,  and  that  obtained,  his  working  days  are  at  an 
end.  Give  him  higher  wages  and  he  gathers  the  necessary 
amount  more  speedily;  give  him  less  and  he  works  the 
longer,  but  the  amount  required  is  the  measure  of  his 
labour.  That  this  is  not  true  I  kpow,  and  it  is  confirmed 
by  others  who  have  had  practical  experience  regarding  it. 
1  have  natives,  monogamists  and  polygamists  both,  who 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN        i8i 

have  grown  old  in  my  service,  who  have  for  many  years 
earned  far  more  than  the  current  wages,  and  who  still 
come  to  work  as  regularly  as  they  did  when  boys,  A  friend 
of  mine,  who  probably  knows  the  South  East  African 
Abantu,  and  especially  their  labour  conditions,  better  than 
any  man  in  the  country,  corroborates  this  from  his  personal 
experience  of  natives  working  in  and  returning  to  Johan- 
nesburg. Of  course  there  is  a  limit,  but  not  the  limit  as 
usually  understood.  The  fact  is,  that  as  they  earn  more, 
their  wants,  and  especially  the  desiresiand  claims  of  their 
families,  increase  also,  and  with  the  wants  the  necessity 
for  continued  labour. 

The  true  remedies  are  gradually  in  operation  all  around 
us,  even  if  only  working  slowly.  Higher  aptitude  and 
experience  are  gradually  accumulating  which  should  be 
fostered  and  encouraged  by  education  in  its  broadest 
meaning.  As  the  individual  native  discovers  that  his 
acquirements  mean  increased  pay  and  greater  comfort,  so 
will  he  make  greater  effort  and  in  turn  encourage  others. 
Greater  efficiency  means  more  economy ;  one  trained, 
industrious,  hopeful  and  willing  native  will,  by  punctually 
working  to  a  given  end,  do  more  than  the  unguided  un- 
regulated efforts  of  two  or  three  of  the  old  type.  Many 
inefficients  at  low  pay  spells  industrial  ineptitude.  The 
producing  countries  which  compete  successfully  in  the  open 
markets  of  the  world  are  the  countries  in  which  the 
workers  are  highly  paid. 

Experiments  will  have  to  be  tried  to  teach  and 
train.  Some  who  know  the  natives  and  their  character, 
notably  Mr.  George  S.  Armstrong  and  Colonel  Friend 
Addison,  both  of  Victoria  County,  Natal,  publicly  advocate 
the  apprenticeship  of  native  boys  to  those  willing  to  teach 
them  some  form  of  work.  They  suggest  that  the  fathers, 
who  now  deplore  the  independence  of  their  3'oung  sons, 
would  be  glad  to  apprentice  them  to  known  and  trusted 
Europeans,  who  would  be  responsible  for  the  training  and 
behaviour  of  the  boys,  and  remit  the  larger  part  of  their 
wages  to  the  father  or  guardian.     I  do  not  think  it  is 


i82    BLACK  ANDWHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

suggested  that  the  boy  would  approve  ;  he  would  probably 
prefer  his  present  life,  six  months  at  home,  then  six  months 
at  work,  sometimes  as  kitchen  boy,  then  again  working 
in  a  store  or  office,  with  its  variet}^  and  opportunity  for 
idling.  It  is  urged  though,  and  rightly,  that  a  term  of  three 
or  four  years  of  steady  service  at  the  time  of  life  when 
habits  are  formed,  would  be  of  incalculable  value  to  the, 
perhaps  at  first,  unwilling  recipient.  He  would  emerge, 
able  to  undertake  the  work  of  groom  or  cook,  or  even 
agricultural  labourer,  far  better  than  the  untrained.  The 
scheme  is  well  worth  trying.  My  own  opinion  is  that  the 
native  will  apprentice  himself  to  a  skilled  trade,  carpenter- 
ing or  boot  or  harness  making,  but  reckons  any  fool  can 
become  an  agricultural  labourer  or  work  in  a  house,  and 
will  decline  to  submit  to  a  term  of  training  to  work  qua 
work.  He  is  not  character  building,  but  would  want  to 
know  whether  at  the  end  of  his  term  he  would  be  a  skilled 
workman  able  to  earn  a  higher  wage. 

Many  men  think  that  if  they  are  unable  to  engage,  at 
will,  any  number  of  labourers  at  the  lowest  rate  of  pay, 
industrial  ruin  stares  us  in  the  face.  Labour  may  be 
very  highly  paid  and  yet  be  cheap  indeed.  But  in  South 
East  Africa  it  has  not  hitherto  been  regarded  as  cheap 
unless  paid  at  the  very  lowest  rate.  We  have  to  revise 
our  conceptions  in  this  matter.  To  me,  it  seems  probable 
that  scarcity  of  native  labour,  with  its  concurrent  advance 
in  wages,  will  not  spell  ruin  but  probably  the  reverse. 
It  may  entail  a  time  of  stress,  certainly  a  time  of  some- 
what painful  readjustment,  but  it  will  ultimately  mean 
progress  on  a  sounder  basis.  The  present  waste  of 
labour  and  its  congestion  must  give  place  to  economy 
and  organization.  Better  and  more  economical  pro- 
cesses, the  harnessing  of  power  and  machinery,  will 
increase  and  cheapen  production.  Many  are  already 
reforming  their  ways,  and  reaping  their  reward,  and  if 
the  stress  of  even-ts  forces  others  along  the  same  lines, 
industrialism  in  this  country  will  not  suffer  loss  but  gain. 

To  some  this  may  sound  a  counsel  of  despair,  or  delay 


THE  DEMAND  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN       183 

that  amounts  to  ruin.  A  reorganization  and  readjust- 
ment seems  too  formidable  an  undertaking  even  to  be 
attempted.  But  it  will  be  gradual ;  if  we  are  on  right 
lines  a  new  groove  will  be  worn,  and  events  fit  into  the 
new  place. 

In  this  sub-problem  of  labour,  as  in  the  whole  native 
question,  no  one  remedy  will,  for  all  time,  settle  it.  It 
is  of  the  first  importance  that  our  policy  be  justifiable  on 
the  solid  ground  of  right  thinking  and  fair  dealing;  that 
being  so  we  must  wait  and  watch,  and  not  so  far  commit 
ourselves  that  we  cannot,  on  further  light  being  given, 
readjust  our  methods. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS. 

I  HAVE,  SO  far  in  the  inquiry,  tried  to  give  a  picture  of 
the  Abantu  in  their  homes,  to  convey  some  idea  of  their 
mental  traits  and  capacity,  their  ideas  and  general  at- 
titude to  the  supernatural,  and  to  depict  the  change  that 
was  inevitable  through  our  impact  on  their  environment. 
Also  to  make  clear  what  the  position  to-day  is,  and  what 
our  attitude  should  be,  on  the  sub-problems  dealt  with — 
tribalism,  missions,  education,  land,  and  labour.  These 
questions  are  all  of  great  importance,  and  a  proper  under- 
standing of  the  facts  involved  in  them,  and  correct  views 
in  regard  to  them,  are  essential,  if  we  are  to  frame  a  native 
policy  based  on  just  and  sound  premises,  and  applicable 
to  the  situation  as  we  find  it  to-day  in  South  East  Africa. 

And  as  I  am  going  out  into  deep  waters,  to  venture 
to  outline  the  general  principles  by  which  we  should  be 
guided  in  our  attitude  to,  relations  with,  and  govern- 
ment of  these  people,  it  is  as  well  that  the  subject  should 
be  thus  subdivided,  and  the  great  questions  I  have  so 
far  discussed  be  separated,  and  each  considered  on  its 
merits.  I  trust  the  conclusions  at  iwhich  we  have,  so 
far,  arrived  will  fit  in  and  co-ordinate  with,  the  general 
policy  I  propose  to  outline  in  a  later  chapter. 

In  order  to  make  the  position  as  clear  as  may  be  I 
will,  in  a  few  words,  state  what  remains  for  me  to  discuss, 
and  endeavour  to  establish,  in  the  rest  of  this  work. 

I  wish  to  show  what  the  attitude  of  the  native  is  to  the 
white  man  and  his  government ;  how  our  methods  of 
government  have,  up  to  this  point,  satisfied  his  desires 
and  met  his  approval, — what  the  black  man  in  the  kraal 
and  the  black  man  in  the  mission  station  really  want. 

184 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  185 

Flaving  then  examined  the  position  of  the  native  in 
regard  to  the  large  questions  treated  separately,  and 
having  tried  to  discover  his  general  attitude  to  us  and 
our  Government,  as  this  is  an  inquiry  into  the  relations 
of  black  and  white,  it  will  be  needful  to  consider  what 
has  been,  so  far,  the  effect  on  the  white  race  of  their 
very  special  and  singular  environment ;  how  far  it  may 
have  been  for  good  or  ill,  and  what  the  effect  of  a  con- 
tinuance along  our  present  lines  is  likely  to  be  upon 
the  Europeans  of  South  East  Africa  ;  and  whether  the 
policy  we  propose  for  our  governance  of  the  Abantu  is 
likely  to  be  for  the  real  and  lasting  good,  the  highest 
development,  of  our  own  people.  Also  to  examine  the 
lines  upon  which  the  principal  Governments  concerned 
have  hitherto  dealt  with  and  governed  these  people, 
and  to  inquire  into  various  theories  which  have,  from 
time  to  time,  been  propounded  as  a  solution  of  the 
problem. 

Then  it  will  be  needful  to  give  my  view  of  what  I 
think  should  be  the  underlying  and  fundamental  principles 
which  should  rule  our  relations  with  the  Abantu  from 
this  time  forward,  and  the  general  lines  on  which  these 
principles  should  be  translated  into  action  and  adminis- 
tration, working  into  the  scheme  the  conclusions  at  which 
we  have  already  arrived  in  regard  to  tribalism,  missions, 
education,  land,  and  labour,  trying  to  fit  them  into  a  co- 
ordinate whole. 

For  the  great  mass  of  black  humanity  for  which  we 
are  responsible  in  this  country  there  is  no  regular  and 
ordered  method  by  which  we  may  learn  their  feelings 
towards  us.  Those  who  are  educated  may  be  represented 
by  the  articles  in  the  few  native  newspapers,  though, 
even  to  a  greater  extent  probably  than  with  us,  these 
writings  are  really  an  expression  of  opinion  of  one  man, 
and  must  not  always  be  accepted  at  their  face  value. 

In  the  Transkeian  territories  what  is  thought  by  the 
educated  on  local  matters  (and  even  to  some  extent  by 
the  kraal   natives)  may  be   reflected   in   the  discussions 


i86    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

held  in  the  local  and  general  councils.  In  Basutoland, 
pitsos  or  gatherings  of  the  heads  of  the  people  are  con- 
vened at  regular  intervals,  and  an  opportunity  given  for 
an  expression  of  opinion,  at  all  events  at  the  mouths  of 
the  chiefs. 

But  the  ordinary  native,  especially  in  Natal,  Zululand, 
Swaziland,  and  the  Transvaal  who  forms  the  great  mass 
of  the  people,  has  no  recognized  channel  by  which  he  can 
make  his  opinions  and  wants  known.  In  the  old  days  in 
Natal,  for  all  ordinary  intercourse,  the  administrators  of 
native  law  and  the  magistrates  were  accessible,  and  the 
head  of  the  Native  Affairs  Department,  Sir  Theophilus 
Shepstone,  was  well  known  to  and  trusted  by  all  the 
people,  and  held  not  infrequent  meetings  among  them 
and  gave  them  a  full  and  fair  opportunity  of  talking  over 
matters  affecting  their  daily  lives  and  bringing  to  the 
notice  of  Government,  through  him,  any  grievances  they 
might  have. 

Gradually  the  European  and  Indian  population  in- 
creased, life  became  more  complex,  many  new  laws  and 
regulations  were  passed  and  issued  giving  the  magistrates 
much  more  bench  and  routine  work,  and  preventing  them 
from  entering  into  the  friendly  and  familiar  intercourse 
with  the  natives  as  of  old.  And  the  office  of  administrator 
of  native  law,  who  took  the  place  of  the  magistrate  in 
more  purely  native  districts,  was  abolished.  Sir  Theo- 
philus Shepstone  died,  and  the  old  order,  the  friendly 
patriarchal  association,  gradually  became  one  of  fixed  and 
rigid  rule. 

The  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  who  took  his  place 
was  one  who  was  brought  up  among  the  Abantu  and 
knew  their  language  and  customs  intimately,  and  could 
be  visited  by  the  chiefs  at  his  office  in  Pietermaritzburg. 
But  he  was  absent  at  times,  notably  when  serving  on  the 
South  African  Native  Commission,  and  then  there  was 
no  one  really  known  to  and  trusted  by  the  natives  whom 
they  could  approach,  and  to  whom  they  could  look  for 
advice  and  guidance.     The  old  policy  of  friendly  and  easy 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  187 

access  and  intercourse,  with  its  opportunities  for  explana- 
tion and  reasoning,  was  modified,  and  rules  were  issued 
making  it  much  more  difficult  for  chiefs  to  visit  the  office 
in  Pietermaritzburg. 

All  this  happened  during  a  period  of  time  when  pro- 
found changes  were  happening  and  the  environment  of 
the  natives  being  rapidly  altered, — essentially  a  period 
when  they  required  guidance  and  advice. 

Since  Natal  took  over  responsible  government  in 
1893  no  less  than  forty-eight  new  laws  specially  applic- 
able to  the  native  population  were  passed,  and  many  new 
regulations  framed  under  these  and  previous  laws. 
These  laws  and  regulations  pressed  upon  the  daily  life  of 
the  native  on  all  sides,  they  imposed  conditions  and 
restrictions  with  which  he  had  to  comply  before  he  could 
travel  in  the  country,  they  put  special  disabilities  upon 
him  in  respect  of  crime — cattle-stealing  to  wit,  they  in- 
creased the  taxes  he  had  to  pay,  they  interfered  with  his 
social  life.  And,  though  every  year  saw  new  edicts 
passed  which  he  was  bound  to  obey,  there  was  no  pro- 
vision by  which  the  uneducated  native  could  be  told  and 
made  to  clearly  understand  the  obligations  which  a 
legislature — in  which  he  was  not  represented — imposed 
upon  him.  In  his  ignorance  he  broke  the  law  of  which 
he  had  never  heard,  the  police  arrested  him,  and  he  was 
fined  or  imprisoned.  I  know  a  case  in  which  new  regula- 
tions were  issued  by  Government  in  a  "Gazette"  which 
reached  a  certain  small  country  town  at  9  a.m.  The 
European  police  opened  it,  read  the  regulations,  and  saw 
a  native  just  outside  infringing  them  and  arrested  him. 
At  10  a.m.  the  magistrate  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  and 
the  native  prisoner  was  charged  before  him.  "  But  this  is 
no  offence,"  said  the  magistrate.  The  police  who  pro- 
secuted called  his  attention  to  the  cop}^  of  the  "  Gazette  " 
received  an  hour  before,  and  the  prisoner  was  punished 
for  an  offence  of  which  the  magistrate  was  not  himself 
cognizant ! 

During  all  this  time,  when  a  new  life  was  pressing 


1 88    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

upon  him  on  all  sides,  made  more  and  more  bewildering 
and  complex  by  the  white  man,  not  only  in  the  matter  of 
laws,  but  as  we  have  seen  by  new  and  irritating  condi- 
tions in  regard  to  land  and  labour,  his  opportunities  of 
approach  to  those  who  should  have  been  his  fathers, 
advisers,  protectors,  were  gradually  lessened  and  made 
more  stringent  and  difficult. 

Then,  during  this  period  of  unrest,  rumours  and  talk 
of  rumours  began  to  fill  the  air.  Mysterious  orders  came 
from  sources  which  could  only  be  guessed.  All  the  white 
pigs  and  fowls  must  be  killed  by  the  orders  of  someone. 
The  atmosphere  was  charged  with  surmise  and  expecta- 
tion, the  wind  carried  them  all  over  the  land.  Gradually 
they  crystallized,  and  the  people  looked  to  Zululand  and 
the  child  of  the  Royal  House  as  the  author  of  the  rumours 
and  orders,  as  the  one  who  was  going  to  take  the  lead 
and  release  them  from  all  their  accumulated  trouble. 

The  native,  saturated  with  his  tribal  ideas,  lacking 
individualism  and  initiative,  must  look  to  one  having  these 
qualities,  and  upon  him  he  must  lean.  He  cannot 
stand  alone.  In  the  time  of  Shepstone  he  looked  to  him  as 
representing  the  Government,  and  felt  he  had  a  rock 
under  which  he  could  shelter.  But  Somtseu  had  gone, 
and  none  had  effectively  taken  his  place ;  the  magistrate 
was  busy  and  the  clerks  told  the  rumour-fogged  inquirer 
the  'Nkosi  could  not  attend  to  him  ;  the  road  to  Pieter- 
maritzburg  was  closed  unless  he  went  through  trouble- 
some forms  he  did  not  understand.  Yet  the  land  was  full 
of  rumour,  of  changes  and  troubles ;  and  to  whom  could 
he  go  in  his  bewilderment.  Naturally,  the  white  man 
being  utterly  inaccessible,  he  must  go  to  the  head  of  the 
Black  House,  the  child  of  Cetywayo. 

The  flame  was  put  in  the  dry  grass  at  Byrne  in  the 
midlands  of  Natal,  and  spread  from  Natal  by  Mapumulo 
and  the  Tugela  to  Zululand.  Many  lost  their  lives  before 
it  was  ended.  Indeed  it  was  fortunate  it  was  no  worse, 
and  that  the  lurid  light  of  racial  war  did  not  spread  over 
the  whole  of  South  Africa. 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  189 

The  substitution  of  the  impersonal  force  of  law  and 
regulation  for  the  kindly  personal  rule  of  past  days,  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  rebellion  of  1906.  The  native 
had  lost  confidence  in  the  Government,  and  the  Govern- 
ment was  out  of  touch  with  the  native, — so  much  so,  that 
only  a  few  days  before  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  pro- 
claim martial  law,  Government  assured  the  colony  there 
was  not  the  slightest  cause  for  anxiety,  the  natives  were 
perfectly  loyal  and  quiet.  Although  other  causes  operated, 
and  it  would  be  impossible  to  accurately  estimate  the 
driving  force  of  each,  I  am  certain  that  if  our  rule  had 
been  more  fatherly  and  personal,  if  our  officials  had  been 
men  in  whom  our  natives  had  full  confidence,  they  would 
never  have  looked  to  the  Black  House  as  they  did  ;  the 
white  man's  Government  would  still  have  been  trusted, 
and  they  would  have  looked  upon  the  authorities  as  their 
fathers  and  guides. 

The  Natal  Native  Commission  made  their  investigation 
soon  after  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  in  refer- 
ence thereto  in  Clause  30  they  say:  "Although  the  dis- 
covery of  the  causes  of  the  late  rebellion  is  not  within  the 
scope  of  this  inquiry,  it  may  be  permitted  to  say  they  were 
both  material  and  psychological.  It  was  primarily  a  revolt 
against  restrictive  conditions,  assisted  by  a  natural  desire, 
common  enough,  as  history  shows,  among  subject  races, 
to  return  to  their  own  mode  of  tribal  and  family  life.  All 
their  views  of  Government,  its  acts  and  omissions,  bene- 
fits and  defects,  are  largely  coloured  and  shaped  by  the 
feudalistic  traditions  of  their  lives,  which,  by  preventing 
the  development  of  self-reliance  and  individual  character, 
has  taught  them  to  regard  their  rulers  as  the  only  and 
natural  sources  of  power,  punishment,  reward,  and 
welfare.  This  explains  why  their  attitude  towards  the 
Government  has  been  one  of  alternating  expectation  and 
despair.  The  belief  that  the  conditions  they  were  finding- 
intolerable  were  attributable  in  one  way  or  other  to 
Government  action  or  inaction,  explains  why  so  little 
damage  was   done   to   private  property  during  the   late 


I90    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

disturbances.  Looking  upon  Government  as  the  maker 
and  enforcer  of  laws,  the  imposer  and  collector  of  taxes,  the 
fountain  of  all  authority,  with  its  officers  everywhere,  they 
wonder  why  their  family  system  is  allowed  to  crumble  to 
pieces,  and  their  daughters  go  astray ;  why  they  are 
compelled  through  the  Courts  to  pay  heavy  rents  and 
usurious  interest ;  to  submit  to  the  overbearing  conduct 
of  the  police  and  to  laws  they  were  ignorant  of,  and  in 
the  making  of  which  they  had  no  voice.  Yet  all  the  time 
we  were  flattering  ourselves  that  by  giving  them  peace 
and  a  pure  justiciary  we  were  doing  our  whole  duty  to 
and  by  them.  We  never  stopped  to  think  that  our  system 
had  become  too  impersonal  for  the  masses  or  to  see  the 
pathos  in  a  simple  people  looking  for  fatherly  advice  and 
assistance  from  a  purely  judicial  officer  or  longing  to  con- 
sult an  exalted  and  virtually  inaccessible  Minister.  The 
head  of  the  native  department  has  never  been  approach- 
able by  the  multitude,  while  to  the  chief  he  was  accessible 
only  to  a  limited  extent  and  in  accordance  with  certain 
formalities.  We  live  and  move  and  think  on  different 
planes,  and  to  make  them  contented  and  satisfied  with  our 
rule  our  methods  must  be  less  artificial  and  complicated 
and  nearer  the  compass  of  their  understanding." 

It  may  almost  be  said  that  the  central  idea  of  the  Re- 
port of  the  Natal  Native  Commission  is  the  one  I  am 
now  emphasizing.  Thus  in  Clause  27  :  *' The  natives  have 
practically  been  denied  a  voice  in  the  management  of  their 
own  affairs,  and  yet  it  may  be  asked  if  it  is  either  reason- 
able or  feasible  that  a  people  accustomed  for  ages  to  the 
patriarchal  system,  the  leading  feature  of  which  is  a 
paternal  despotism,  can  be  successfully  ruled  by  a  system 
wholly  remote  and  based  on  loyalty  to  and  reverence  for 
an  ideal  or  notion  of  an  abstract  character.  We  do  not 
look  for  sympathy  from  our  public  officials,  but  only  in- 
tegrity and  a  sense  of  duty  and  responsibility  in  adminis- 
tering laws  which  we  believe  to  be  just  and  suited  to  our 
conditions  and  ideas  of  life.  But  with  a  people  accus- 
tomed to  and  comprehending  no  other  than  personal  rule, 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  191 

it  is  essential  that  the  magnetic  and  powerful  influence 
of  human  condescension  and  sympathy  should  not  be 
ignored  as  indispensable  to  their  successful  control.  Put- 
ting law  in  the  place  of  sympathy  has  had  the  natural 
effect  of  inhibiting  and  neutralising  their  confidence." 

Again  in  Clause  28  :  "  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  then,  as 
the  evidence  abundantly  shows,  that  the  more  intelligent 
and  reflective  among  the  natives  so  frequently  drew  com- 
parisons between  the  consideration  and  treatment  shown 
them  in  pre-responsible  Government  days,  when  the  per- 
sonal factor  had  sway,  and  what  it  is  to-day,  when  this 
element  has  been  practically  eliminated  altogether?  A 
system  of  government  that  disregards  natural  laws,  and 
leaves  out  of  account  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  people,  is 
doomed  to  failure." 

A  wise  word  in  this  connection  is  spoken  in  Clause  23. 
"  Not  only  special  measures  of  this  nature  (removal  of  sur- 
plus population  to  Zululand)  but  also  the  direct  control 
of  the  natives  in  general,  must  be  entrusted  to  highly 
skilled  and  carefully  selected  officers  possessing  all  the 
attributes  of  born  rulers,  imbued  with  an  ever-present 
sense  of  their  responsibilities  and  with  an  intense  desire 
for  the  welfare  of  the  people." 

In  justice  to  the  Natal  Government  and  people  it 
must  be  said,  as  I  have  previously  remarked,  that  the  re- 
commendations of  the  Commission  have,  in  part,  been 
carried  into  effect.  Some  administrative  reforms  have 
been  instituted  and  the  foundations  under  statute  for 
better  guidance  and  personal  rule  have  been  laid. 

I  have  referred  to  this  lamentable  episode  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  relations  with  the  Abantu,  as  an  illustration 
of  the  prime  necessity  in  those  responsible  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  native  affairs  to  carefully  study  the  past 
history,  the  character,  and  surroundings  of  the  people,  if 
they  are  to  avoid  the  pitfalls  that  lie  all  around. 

Naturally  and  intuitively  we  may,  to  some  extent, 
interpret  and  realize  what  will  be  acceptable  to  our  own 
people ;  but  the  closest  stud}^,  by  those  who  have  made  it 


192    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

their  life's  work,  is  necessary  in  the  case  of  a  race  on  such 
a  different  plane,  and  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
largely  inarticulate, — inarticulate  if  he  be  not  given,  under 
authority,  an  opportunity  to  express  himself;  but  quite 
capable  of  doing  so  effectively  if  such  due  opportunity  be 
given.  It  should  form  an  integral  part  of  our  policy  to 
furnish  such  opportunities  with  due  formalities  and  under 
control.  Human  nature,  everywhere,  chafes  under  the 
sense  of  wrongs  which  cannot  be  expressed,  and  this  is 
essentially  a  characteristic  of  the  native.  Give  him  a 
patient  hearing,  the  fullest  opportunity  of  voicing  his 
grievances,  and  it  acts  as  a  safety  valve,  and  his  load  is, 
even  by  this,  at  once  lightened.  It  gives  opportunity  for 
explanation,  for  reasoned  argument,  to  which  the  native 
is  peculiarly  susceptible  and  in  which  he  finds  relief. 

The  prime  necessity  for  any  system  of  government  be- 
ing of  the  nature  of  personal  rule  need  not  again  be  empha- 
sized. By  the  vast  majority,  the  Government  will  be 
obeyed  and  respected  if  those  who  to  them  immediately 
represent  the  Government  are  of  the  class,  and  with  the 
qualifications,  so  ably  set  forth  in  the  Report  of  the  Natal 
Commission.  If  we  can  secure  good  administration  by 
capable  and  sympathetic  officials,  half  our  difficulties  in 
the  present  will  disappear.  In  both  these  most  important 
matters,  Basutoland  and  the  Transkeian  territories  have 
a  lesson  for  the  Union  Government  and  the  rest  of  South 
Africa. 

As  I  have  shown,  for  a  long  time  prior  to  the  investiga- 
tions of  the  Natal  Native  Commission,  the  Abantu  of  that 
province  and  Zululand  had  but  meagre  opportunities  of 
directly  addressing  the  representatives  of  Government 
with  regard  to  their  position  in  the  land.  The  Commis- 
sion visited  the  whole  of  the  colony  and  Zululand, 
assembled  the  chiefs,  headmen,  and  elders,  and  furnished 
the  opportunity  so  long  lacking.  Those  of  our  own  race 
who  heard  the  people  speak  at  these  meetings  were  con- 
vinced they  opened  their  hearts  freely, — they  were  always 
respectful,  but  spoke  without  reticence,     I  know  no  other 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  193 

method  of  investigation  so  calculated  to  give  an  insight 
into  their  race  feeHngs  and  desires,  and  most  interesting 
and  suggestive  were  these  meetings.  We  cannot  take 
all  they  said  at  its  face  value,  we  must  often  read  between 
the  lines,  but  a  careful  examination  and  analysis  of  their 
statements  and  grievances  should  give  us  an  insight  into 
the  native  point  of  view  and  enable  us  to  draw  conclu- 
sions of  value  in  our  inquiry. 

The  complaints  of  the  ordinary  kraal  native  make  up 
a  formidable  list  and  are  as  follows  : — 

1.  Absence  of  general  protector  of  native  interests 
and  welfare. 

2.  Difficulty  of  access    to    the    Secretary  for   Native 
Affairs. 

3.  Unsatisfactory  promulgation  of  laws. 

4.  Harsh  methods  adopted  by  the  police. 

5.  Arrest  of  members  of  a   tribe  by  police,  without 
the  chiefs  knowledge. 

6.  Attendance  of  police  at  social  gatherings. 

7.  Want  of  consideration  and  delays  at  magistrates' 
courts  and  post  offices. 

8.  Want  of  consideration    on  the  railways. 

9.  Want  of  power  by  chiefs  to  control  tribes. 

10.  Loss   of  power  by  kraal   heads   to  control   sub- 
ordinates. 

11.  Personal  freedom  allowed  children,  boys  as  well 
as  girls,  to  the  disregard  of  parents. 

12.  Facilities  for  women  obtaining  divorce. 

13.  Legal  obstacles  to  recovering  balance  of  lobolo. 

14.  Appearance  of  lawyers  in  their  cases  and  excessive 
charges  made  by  them. 

15.  Punishment  by  removal  of  chiefs  without  form  of 
trial. 

16.  Beer-drinking  regulations. 

17.  Multiplicity  of  passes  and  difficulty  in  procuring 
same. 

18.  Interference  with  the  rights  of  way  by  fencing  off 
old  paths. 

13 


194    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

19.  Forest  regulations. 

20.  Game  laws. 

21.  Registration  of  births  and  deaths. 

22.  Excessive  rents  charged  by  Europeans. 

23.  Too  many  laws,  over  legislation  and  administra- 
tion. 

24.  The  poll  tax  and  its  effect  on  the  young  men  in 
adding  to  their  reluctance  to  assist  their  fathers. 

25.  The  dog  tax. 

26.  Compulsory  labour  on  roads  and  public  works. 

27.  Interference  by  Europeans  of  various  classes  with 
women  and  girls. 

28.  Usury. 

29.  Unfair  terms  made  by  Europeans  when  advanc- 
ing money  in  return  for  labour. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  take  every  one  of  these 
complaints  too  seriously.  Some  are  comparatively  trivial 
and  merely  indicate  that  the  native,  when  he  gets  a 
chance,  loves  a  grumble.  Others  give  us  an  insight 
into  the  root  of  the  matter  and  deserve  the  most  serious 
consideration  in  our  present  inquiry,  when  we  want  all 
the  light  possible  on  the  native  outlook. 

I  do  not  propose  to  enter  into  a  detailed  discussion 
even  on  the  more  serious  complaints,  but  would  attempt 
an  analysis  and  classification  to  endeavour  to  arrive  at 
some  definite  conclusion,  to  try  and  discover  some 
general  principles  underlying  them. 

1.  The  two  first  indicate  the  point  upon  which  I  have 
laid  so  much  stress,  a  desire  for  a  personal  representa- 
tive of  Government  always  approachable ;  personal  and 
fatherly  rule. 

2.  Many  of  them  (3,  4,  5,  7,  8)  indicate  bad  or  in- 
efficient administration,  lack  of  consideration. 

3.  Some  again  (14,  22,  27,  28,  29)  show  the  disabilities 
under  which  they  feel  they  suffer  by  reason  of  their  con- 
tact with  the  stronger  race. 

4.  Most  of  the  others  (9,  10,  11,  12,  18,  19,  20)  indicate 
their  recognition  of  the  manner  in  which  we  attempt  or 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  195 

permit  the  disintegration  of  their  race  life,  and  interfere 
with  their  customs,  and  their  protest  against  it. 

If  some  power  could  remove  the  native  population 
away  from  contact  with  the  white  race,  and  allow  them 
to  live  their  own  lives  and  manage  their  own  affairs 
under  the  guidance  and  direction  of  able  and  sympathetic 
white  administrators,  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  grievances 
included  in  classes  2  and  3  of  my  classification  as  above 
would  disappear.  The  underlying  note  of  much  of  the 
native  evidence  was  too  much  contact  with  Europeans, 
and  too  much  interference  with  their  life  by  Government 
and  its  agents,  especially  the  police.  Indeed  if  we  could 
get  at  the  hearts  of  the  people,  consciously,  subcon- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  we  would  find  the  desire  to  be 
let  alone.    Why  is  the  white  man  constantly  disturbing  us  ? 

Clause  31  of  the  Report  correctly  conveys  the  im- 
pression stamped  upon  the  minds  of  some  of  the  Com- 
missioners by  the  cumulative  weight  of  the  evidence  and 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  given.  It  reads:  "The 
evidence  contains  what  to  many  will  be  deemed  startling 
revelations  of  native  feeling.  A  few  natives  went  the 
length  of  saying  that  the  days  of  Tyaka  were  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  present,  others  regretted  not  knowing  of  a 
place  where  they  could  escape  the  white  man's  rule  and  live 
as  they  liked.  These  exceptional  utterances  should  not  be 
passed  over  in  silence  because  spoken  by  a  few,  as  there 
is  reason  to  think  they  represent  the  thoughts  of  many." 

To  let  them  alone  to  live  as  they  liked  !  Many  of  us 
would  gladly  do  so  were  it  possible.  We  do  not  wish 
their  extinction,  we  like  them  and  recognize  their  good 
and  likeable  qualities,  and  we  believe  that  the  race  has 
a  value  to  humanity  and  the  world.  Yet,  if  they  could 
be  spirited  to  a  new  land  suited  to  their  needs,  and  we 
remain  alone  to  work  out  our  own  salvation,  how  simple 
the  problem  !  We  cannot  do  so ;  points  of  contact,  nay 
of  conflict,  will  remain  whatever  possible  policy  we  choose 
to  adopt.  But  if  we  find  that  in  our  best  interest  as  well 
as  in  theirs,  our  lines  of  life  should  be,  as  far  as  may  be, 

13 


196    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

parallel  and  not  converging,  and  we  should  touch  at  as  few 
points  as  possible,  this  desire  to  separate  and  live  their 
own  lives  is  an  important  factor  to  be  remembered  later. 
Thus  far  the  grievances  and  desires  of  the  tribal 
natives,  but  we  have  to  deal  with  others  who  have  ac- 
quired, under  our  influence,  other  ideals  and  who  have 
also  complaints  to  make.  The  position  and  attitude  of 
the  educated  native  has  been  separately  stated  in  the 
Report  of  the  Commission,  and  their  complaints  may  be 
thus  summarized  : — 

1.  Inadequate  representation  in  Parliament. 

2.  Want  of  Government  schools. 

3.  Absence  of  employment  for  their  educated  sons. 

4.  Children  of  exempted  natives  debarred  from  ac- 
quiring status  of  parents  by  descent. 

5.  Difficulties  of  acquiring  exemption  in  spite  of  satis- 
fying conditions  of  law. 

6.  Liability  for  service  in  time,  of  war,  without  being 
enrolled  and  trained  for  the  defence  of  the  country  in 
time  of  peace. 

7.  Inability  to  buy  land. 

8.  Obligation  to  construct  expensive  buildings  on  land 
purchased,  i.e.  purchased  out  of  Crown  lands. 

9.  Rents  on  Mission  reserves. 

10.  Want  of  attention  at  magistrates'  courts. 

1 1.  Obligation  to  give  royal  salute  (bayete)  to  magis- 
strates,  their  clerks,  and  the  police. 

12.  Being  obliged  to  crouch  in  an  abject  way  when 
paying  taxes  to  the  magistrate. 

13.  Obstacles  in  the  way  of  holding  religious  services 
in  locations. 

14.  Withholding  of  licences  to  native  clergy  to  celebrate 
marriages. 

Here  is  what  appears  to  be  quite  another  point  of  view. 
Apart  from  the  grievances  due  to  maladministration  or 
lack  of  consideration,  they  denote  a  desire  for  further 
opportunity  to  develop  their  lives,  opportunity  and  out- 
look  similar  to   that  accorded   to   the  white   man.     Re- 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  197 

presentation  in  Parliament,  more  and  better  education, 
the  employment  of  their  educated  sons  (the  Civil  Service 
was  mentioned),  facilities  for  exemption  from  native  law, 
in  order  to  become  in  all  respects  as  the  white  man,  is  the 
burden  of  the  more  serious  complaints. 

The  position  of  these  people  must  excite  our  sympathy 
and  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  :  Actuated  by  the 
example  of  the  white  man  and  the  teaching  of  the  mis- 
sionary, we  have  cut  ourselves  away  from  the  bad  old  life, 
embraced  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  attempted  to 
live  a  higher  and  more  enlightened  life.  For  many  of  us 
it  has  meant  effort  and  sacrifice  which  the  white  man  is 
not  called  upon  to  make  and  face.  Our  feet  on  the  up- 
ward path,  we  are  now  told,  in  effect  always,  and  some- 
times in  words,  that  further  advance  is  barred  to  us,  we 
are  trespassing  on  the  exclusive  domain  of  the  white  man. 
A  colour  line  is  drawn,  across  which  we  must  not  pass. 
We  are  told  of  the  value  of  education,  we  see  expensive 
schools  built  for  the  European,  but  no  Government 
schools  of  any  kind  are  provided  for  us.  If,  after  much 
stress  and  toil  and  struggle  with  the  unfamiliar,  our  sons 
are  able  to  pass  an  examination  for  entrance  to  the 
service  of  the  State,  no  such  employment  is  found  for 
them,  it  is  the  prerogative  of  the  European.  Many  of  us 
are  fitted  by  education  and  character  to  exercise  the 
franchise  and  assist  to  choose  our  representatives  in 
Parliament,  but  no  black  man  can  have  this  privilege. 
We  see  white  men,  uneducated,  drunken,  debased,  whose 
vote  may  be  bought  by  a  mug  of  beer,  exercising  this 
most  valued  right,  to  us  denied.  Hopeless  is  the  attempt 
to  advance  farther ;  a  wall  unclimbable  is  placed  across  the 
path.  We  claim  that  every  man  should  be  judged  by 
his  character,  ability,  and  acquirements,  and  not  merel}' 
by  the  colour  of  his  skin.  Make  the  barrier  as  high  and 
difficult  as  you  like,  but  leave  us  some  hope  that  b}'  con- 
tinuous effort  and  sacrifice  we  may  surmount  it  and 
continue  to  advance  along  the  same  road  as  that  the 
white  man  treads. 


198     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

The  white  man  feels  all  this,  acknowledges  the  truth, 
and  3'et,  sympathetic,  altruistic,  Christian,  he  bars  the 
way.  Instinctively,  if  not  consciously,  he  knows  that 
along  this  path,  and  not  far  ahead,  lies  race  conflict.  He 
admits  the  mental  and  moral  superiority  of  some  black 
men  to  many  whites,  but  feels  in  his  heart  of  hearts  that 
they  are  fundamentally  different,  that  they  can  never 
amalgamate,  that  every  additional  point  of  contact  brings 
nearer  the  inevitable  contest,  and  without  attempting  to 
find  an  alternative,  he  places  insurmountable  barriers  in 
the  way.  Cruel  to  the  black  man  and  harmful  to  the  white 
is  the  present  position  ;  fraught  with  evil  to  the  white 
man,  for  he  is  taking  up  a  position  he  cannot  justify,  he 
is  doing  violence  to  his  conscience,  he  is  evading  instead 
of  facing  a  difficult  question. 

Gradually  the  black  man,  educated,  clean,  and  well- 
behaved,  impinges  on  the  area  hitherto  held  by  the  white. 
At  Church  Synods  and  the  Unions  of  the  Free  Churches, 
black  and  white  meet  nominally  as  equals  in  all  respects, 
workers  in  the  same  field,  the  disciples  of  one  Master. 
Logically,  given  the  premises,  any  other  attitude  is  im- 
possible— but  does  the  white  in  his  heart  of  hearts  so 
regard  him  ?  Some  few  of  those  strong  in  the  faith  may 
do  so  to  the  last  demand,  and  accept  without  inner 
reservation  the  whole  doctrine.  But — let  us  be  honest 
nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  shirking — can  this  be  said  of 
the  majority?  Consciously  or  subconsciously,  they  feel 
with  the  average  man  that  race  cannot  be  eliminated,  that 
behind  the  nominal  equality  of  the  individual  lies  the 
inequality  of  race.  It  is  not  a  question  of  colour,  it  lies 
deeper ;  and  whether  we  be  regarded  as  simply  varieties  of 
the  same  species  or  our  differences  are  accounted  specific 
or  generic  matters  little,  they  lie  at  the  root  of  our  being. 
I  believe  that  some  of  these  white  men,  Christian  and 
conscientious,  who  shrink  from  giving  the  full  recognition 
demanded  by  the  premises,  feel  that  this  impact  which 
promises  to  become  still  closer  is  not  for  the  good  of  either 
people,     llieir  adherence  to  the  faith,  their  desire  to  do 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  199 

justly,  is  at  war  with  their  race  consciousness  and  their 
instinct  of  race  preservation. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  South  Africa  a  full- 
blooded  member  of  the  Abantu  race  has  been  elected  to 
the  Legislature.  Under  the  South  Africa  Act,  the  Act 
which  established  Union,  no  person  who  is  not  of  Euro- 
pean descent  (which  is  not  defined),  can  become  a 
member  of  the  Union  Parliament.  No  such  bar  is  speci- 
fically made  with  regard  to  the  Provincial  Councils,  and 
Mr.  Rubesana  is  now  the  member  for  Tembuland,  a 
constituency  with  both  white  and  black  voters  on  the  roll. 
By  education,  character,  and  ability  he  is  by  common  re- 
pute admitted  to  be  quite  as  eligible  as  many  representa- 
tives of  European  descent. 

When  in  Natal  as  a  delegate  to  the  Congregational 
Union  of  South  Africa  Mr.  Rubesana  was  interviewed  by 
a  local  paper,  and  after  giving  some  interesting  particulars 
about  his  constituency  and  election,  stated  that  what  the 
educated  natives  wanted  was  contained  in  the  phrase, 
equality  of  opportunity,  presumably  in  all  fields — political, 
educational,  industrial,  commercial.  The  under  note  of 
many  educated  Natal  natives  in  giving  evidence  before 
the  Commission  was  the  same ;  make  no  distinctions  in 
law  or  practice  between  us,  give  us  the  same  opportunities 
as  you  have.  When  questioned  more  particularly,  especi- 
ally with  reference  to  the  present  restriction  in  regard  to 
obtaining  liquor,  which  is  applicable  to  all' natives,  they 
said  in  effect :  We  realize  your  good  intentions  in  debar- 
ring all  from  obtaining  liquor,  and  it  has  been  beneficial, 
but  we  want  freedom  to  use  our  own  judgment  in  this 
and  all  other  matters  ;  if  we  transgress  we  pay  the  penalty, 
but  we  claim  the  right  to  take  or  abstain  as  may  seem  to 
us  best. 

Equality  of  opportunit}'. 

The  time  has  now  perhaps  arrived  when,  in  the  course 
of  our  inquiry,  we  must  face  this  position,  for  what  it  im- 
plies goes  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  If  we  grant  the 
argument,  only  one  path  lies  before  us,  which  leads  to  the 


200    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

convergence  of  the  races,  a  possible  blending  in  blood  at 
the  extremes,  strongly  awakened  suspicious  race  con- 
sciousness in  the  masses,  race  hostility  inevitable.  The 
demand  comes  from  the  weaker :  do  they  realize  all  that 
is  contained  therein  ? 

Up  till  the  present,  notwithstanding  all  the  short- 
comings and  lapses  of  the  white  race,  all  the  selfish  ex- 
ploitation of  the  black  man  by  individuals,  there  has  been 
a  strong  undercurrent  of  sympathy,  reflected  from  time  to 
time  in  the  policy  of  Governments,  and  oftener  in  the 
attitude  of  Europeans,  to  their  native  dependants.  The 
natives  have  been  regarded  as  children  unable  to  act  for 
and  fully  protect  themselves,  our  wards,  for  whom  we 
must  act  and  think  for  their  good,  though  sometimes 
against  their  inclinations  and  our  material  interests. 
Granted  the  responsibility  has  been  often  evaded,  that  we 
have  been  so  intent  on  our  own  interests  as  to  neglect 
theirs,  still  the  nominal  recognition  of  this  position  has 
stood  for  much,  and  under  pressure,  or  a  more  sensitive 
public  conscience,  may  stand  for  much  more  in  the  future. 

But  if  the  average  man,  in  whom  this  altruistic  feeling 
is  never  very  strong,  realizes  that  all  he  is  doing  for  the 
native  is  simply  to  prepare  and  equip  him  to  fight  him  or 
his  children  in  all  the  fields  of  activity  hitherto  his  own, 
is  it  likely  he  will  continue  to  sympathize  and  assist  him 
in  his  endeavours  ? 

He  will  realize  that  behind  the  few  in  the  van  who  are 
asking  to  be  placed  on  an  equality  with  him — an  equality 
which  means  equality  in  a  conflict  for  existence  on  the 
only  plane  on  which  he  chooses  to  exist,  are  millions 
more  coming  forward,  a  huge  black  wave,  which  will 
mean,  as  between  the  races,  the  greatest  inequality.  The 
feeling  which  we  indicated  as  being  present  in  the 
European,  when  we  spoke  on  ithe  subject  of  industrial 
education,  is  the  same,  though  there  evidenced  in  a 
narrower  sphere,  the  instinct  or  feeling  for  the  preserva- 
tion, there  of  the  individual  or  group,  here  of  the  race. 

Without  having,  as  yet,   brought  the  argument  to  a 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  201 

focus,  I  have  in  many  places  indicated,  sufficiently  clearly, 
that  I  think  points  of  contact  between  the  races  mean,  if 
not  to-day  in  time  to  come,  points  of  difference  or  conflict, 
and  this  has  been  particularly  shown  when  treating  of 
land,  labour,  and  education.  I  cannot  doubt  but  that,  if 
we  accept  the  position  laid  down  by  the  educated  natives 
whose  ambitions  I  have  outlined,  the  same  conflict,  on  a 
scale  commensurate  with  all  our  life  activities,  will  come 
to  pass. 

Do  those  who  ask  to  be  placed  in  this  position  realize 
all  that  it  implies  ?  I  hardly  think  so,  and  it  is  not  likely 
that  they  should  be  able  so  to  do.  Their  outlook  is  much 
too  circumscribed,  their'experience  too  limited  and  recent, 
their  environment  too  restricted,  to  enable  them  to  justly 
judge  the  present  position  and  forecast  the  future.  As 
individuals,  they  have  achieved  much  of  which  they  are 
rightly  proud  ;  they  are  far  in  advance  of  the  mass  of  their 
people,  they  feel  that  in  some  respects  some  of  them  have 
overtaken  the  laggards  of  the  higher  race  ;  but  can  they 
realize  that  this  is  not  a  question  of  individuals  but  one 
of  race  ? 

They  see  the  white  man  in  possession  of  all  the 
desirable  things  of  this  life ;  he  has  power  to  make  laws 
which  they  must  obey,  he  possesses  the  land,  he  makes 
money,  and  can  apparently  easily  obtain  all  the  comforts 
and  luxuries  of  existence.  These  good  things  are  held  in 
different  degrees  by  the  whites,  some  are  comparatively 
poor,  others  rich  ;  but  this  fact  does  not  clearly  show  them 
that  under  it  all  is  struggle,  stress,  conflict,  a  real  struggle 
for  existence  which,  while  it  means  ample  reward  to  the 
victor,  spells  defeat  to  the  weaker. 

He  only  asks  equality  of  opportunity. 

I  do  not  think  he  grasps  the  fact  that  in  the  past  there 
has  been  a  fund  of  altruism  on  which  the  black  man  from 
time  to  time  could  draw,  but  which  under  the  conditions 
he  desires  might  not  be  available.  The  white  man,  as 
guardian  and  protector,  has  not  in  the  past  done  his  full 
duty.     Allowed;  but  he  has  given  such  education  as  30U 


202    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

have,  built  churches  and  schools,  and  this  without  fee  or 
reward.  His  Government  has  laid  off  desirable  lands  for 
your  exclusive  benefit  on  which  no  white  man  may  live. 
Against  his  own  financial  interest,  he  has  prevented  the 
baser  of  his  race  from  exploiting  3^ou  by  selling  intoxicants, 
he  has  prevented  white  men  from  making  gain  by  charging 
you  exorbitant  rates  of  interest,  in  times  of  famine  he  has 
fed  you.  Equality  of  opportunity  means  the  attenuation 
or  disappearance  of  any  such  desires  on  the  part  of  the 
white  man. 

The  white  man,  through  centuries  of  such  struggle, 
and  the  elimination  of  the  unfit,  has  acquired  an  aptitude 
for  self-government,  and  a  great  social  efficiency,  that 
augurs  ill  for  the  race  which  enters  into  equal  and  un- 
handicapped  competition  with  him.  You  are  the  elite  of 
your  race,  but  what  of  the  millions  not  yet  even  super- 
ficially fit ;  what  of  them  if  the  white  man,  foreseeing  the 
end  if  competition  is  to  take  the  place  of  guardianship, 
forswears  any  further  guidance  and  assistance  and  applies 
the  conditions  of  equal  competition  to  all? 

Knowing  how  difficult  it  is  to  gauge  the  intricacies  of 
sociological  questions  in  countries  under  different  condi- 
tions, at  a  distance,  and  unknown  from  personal  experi- 
ence, I  have  used  some  restraint  and  have  not  often  hitherto 
pressed  the  argument  from  analogy.  But  the  salient 
features  of  the  position  in  the  Southern  States  of  the 
North  American  Union  have  been  so  frequently  recited 
by  many  and  competent  observers  that  I  may  venture 
to  call  attention  to  it.  Nominal  equality  of  opportunity 
has  been  the  policy  of  that  country,  and  as  far  as  may  be 
has  been  the  law  of  the  land  since  the  sixties  of  last 
century.  The  disparity  in  numbers,  education,  wealth, 
political  experience  between  the  races  is  far  less  there 
than  in  South  Africa.  The  language  spoken  by  both  is 
the  same.  The  proportion  of  those  of  pure  African  line- 
age is  much  smaller  than  in  South  East  Africa  ;  a  larger 
number  can  claim  blood  relationship  with  both  races. 
Some  forty  or  fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  oppor- 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  203 

tunity  came  to  the  black  and  coloured  man,  and  to-day 
the  races  stand  apart  as  regards  all  the  vital  issues  of  life 
in  two  armed  camps ;  the  tension,  dislike,  aye  hatred, 
probably  greater  than  at  any  previous  time  in  their  histor}-, 
and  apparently  growing  from  more  to  more.  One  can- 
not read  the  pathetic  writings  of  some  of  the  southern 
white  men  on  the  condition  and  future  of  their  race  without 
serious  misgiving,  without  feeling  how  the  ever-festering 
open  sore  of  racialism  is  draining  away  their  best  and 
highest ;  nor  those  of  the  coloured  men  without  feeling  the 
deepest  sympathy  for  the  anomalous  and  degrading  posi- 
tion in  which  their  race  is  placed  and  held.  Is  any  sacri- 
fice too  great,  any  effort  too  arduous,  which  will  prevent 
us  from  drifting  into  such  a  position  as  this  ? 

Whether  it  is  possible  toformulate  a  policy  which  will 
give  to  the  Abantu  a 'wider  outlook,  a  chance  of  their  full 
race  development,  with  full  and  free  opportunity  for  the 
white  man,  and  at  the  same  time  minimize  or  eliminate  the 
dangers  to  both  from  race  contact  and  conflict,  seems  to 
me  to  be  the  problem.  It  can  certainly  not  ensue  by 
following  the  lines  of  equality  of  opportunity  as  under- 
stood by  those  from  whom  we  have  been  quoting.  At 
this  point  let  me  repeat  the  problem  of  the  races  as  it 
lies  before  us. 

In  a  previous  chapter  I  put  it  thus  :  To  so  act  in  our 
relations  with  the  natives,  and  so  guide  them,  that  they 
may  have  all  reasonable  opportunity  for  developing  their 
race  life  along  the  best  lines,  taking  account  of  their 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  improvement ;  not  necessarily 
following  the  line  of  evolution  of  the  white  man,  but  if 
possible,  the  line  their  race  genius  suggests.  And  that 
we,  while  so  acting,  shall  also  have  an  opportunity  of 
development,  and  be  not  subject  as  a  race  to  deteriorating 
tendencies  which  may  be  present  in  our  race  environment. 

I  also  put  it  in  the  form  of  a  question. 

Is  it  possible  for  a  white  race,  whose  race  aspiration  is 
the  utmost  economic  development  of  the  country  in  which 
they  live,  every  effective  member  of  which  is  filled  with 


204    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

restless  energy  to  personally  advance  and  acquire,  to  live 
with  a  black  one,  to  whom  its  efforts  and  aspirations  do 
not  appeal,  and  yet  so  adjust  the  life  of  each  that  both 
shall  be  content,  and  the  black  have  all  reasonable  op- 
portunities for  such  development  as  is  possible  to  them  ? 

Divorced  in  some  part  from  the  spirit  of  his  race,  his 
education  the  gift  of  the  white  man,  all  his  new  ideas 
borrowed  from  the  European  teacher  and  missionary, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  for  the  educated  native  the 
only  theory  of  further  advancement  was  along  the  lines 
taken  by  the  race  to  which  his  teacher  belonged.  The 
European  missionary  had  seen  that  the  poor,  the  illiterate, 
the  backward  of  his  own  people  had  gradually  obtained 
from  the  privileged  classes  a  fuller  and  fuller  recognition 
of  their  claims.  From  generation  to  generation  the  privi- 
legesof  the  one  had  been  curtailed  and  the  disabilities  of  the 
other  removed.  Political  power,  once  exclusively  in  the 
hands  of  the  few,  became  the  right  of  all.  Education,  which 
in  past  times  was  denied  to  all  who  could  not  purchase  it, 
became  compulsory  and  free.  The  whole  trend  of  modern 
civilization  was  to  give  to  all  equality  of  opportunity  in 
the  battle  of  life.  It  is  possible  they  did  not  fully  realize 
that  the  application  of  this  theory  meant  and  means  the 
intensifying  of  the  struggle  for  existence  among  those 
who  accepted  the  doctrine,  but  it  was  perfectly  natural 
that  the  better  conditions  and  greater  liberty  which  had 
been  granted  to  the  poor  and  illiterate  of  Western  Europe 
and  America,  should  in  turn  be  the  objective  and  privilege 
of  their  disciples  in  this  country.  And  is  it  wonderful 
that  their  scholars  should  desire  and  seek  for  the  only  boon 
they  could  realize  as  likely  to  further  their  progress  ;  that 
this  was  the  only  path  of  advancement  they  could  see  ? 

But  the  race  instincts,  though  lying  deep  and  not 
distinctly  articulate,  as  is  the  surface  teaching  of  the  white 
man,  may  be  a  safer  guide  to  us.  We  have  seen  that, 
when  analysed,  the  complaints  of  the  tribal  natives  might, 
in  large  part,  be  summarized  as  a  desire  to  be  let  alone, 
to  live  their  own  life  in  their  own  way.  We  have  seen 
that  a  section  of  the  educated  natives  desired   to  free 


WHAT  THE  BLACK  MAN  THINKS  205 

themselves  in  the  domain  of  religion,  and  to  a  certain  un- 
defined extent  politically,  from  the  control  and  tutelage  of 
the  white  man  ;  they  too  desired  to  be  let  alone,  to  man- 
age their  own  religious  life  in  their  own  way. 

In  the  searching  and  thoughtful  address  delivered  by 
Lord  Selborne  before  the  congregation  of  the  University 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  February  7th,  1909,  he  says, 
referring  to  Basutoland  :  "  Now  I  have  a  special  responsi- 
bility for  Basutoland,  and  I  have  taken  some  trouble  to 
know  something  about  the  country.  I  have  been  into 
Basutoland  on  several  separate  occasions  and  I  have 
crossed  it  from  end  to  end.  I  know  personally  all  the 
principal  chiefs,  and  I  have  had  many  conversations  with 
them  both  privately  and  at  public  pitsos.  I  say  deliber- 
ately that  the  king  has  no  more  loyal  subjects  than  the 
Basuto  ;  that,  if  the  Basuto  are  justly  and  wisely  governed, 
they  will  cause  no  serious  trouble,  and  that  the  one  thing 
they  most  desire  is  to  be  left  atoned 

That  the  educated  natives  should  express  themselves 
as  wishful  to  obtain  equality  of  opportunity  is  natural,  it 
was  natural  to  their  teachers,  they  could  show  them  no 
other  path  and  they  repeated  what  they  had  been  taught. 
The  race  expression,  the  wish  to  live  their  own  life  in 
their  own  way,  lies,  I  think,  deeper.  Hitherto  the  white 
man  and  his  Government  have  discountenanced  this 
aspiration ;  they  felt  it  was  but  the  first  step  to  sedition 
and  revolt.  But  may  it  not  be  a  guiding  light  to  us  in 
formulating  a  policy  which  shall  give  the  opportunities 
we  desire  for  both  races,  and  yet  minimize  the  dangers 
to  both  which  will  indubitably  result  from  increasing 
the  points  of  contact  ? 

Guided  and  controlled  it  must  be,  but  it  may  be  of 
the  utmost  service  in  the  future. 

Before  going  on  to  endeavour  to  thread  all  the  con- 
clusions at  which  we  have  so  far  arrived  on  one  string, 
to  co-ordinate  them  in  a  policy  for  the  future,  I  must  in 
the  next  chapter  try  to  indicate  the  effect  the  black  man 
has  had  in  the  past  on  the  white  race,  and  the  probable 
result  of  such  and  his  special  environment  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN. 

Is  it  possible  for  a  race,  all  the  members  of  which  are 
freed  from  the  obligation  to  earn  their  bread  by  menial 
or  manual  labour  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  to  retain 
for  any  length  of  time  their  full  virility?  Can  the 
development  of  a  race  reach  its  highest,  and  the  life  of  a 
people  be  truly  successful  which  is  based  on  the  servile 
labour  of  another  race  ?  This  is  the  position  of  the 
white  man  in  South  East  Africa,  and  this  is  the  question 
he  must  answer.  It  is  basic  and  fundamental,  and  though 
it  may  be  evaded  at  present,  the  Fates  will  put  it  and 
demand  an  answer  in  the  future. 

The  only  work  habitually  undertaken  by  the  white 
man  in  this  country,  which  can,  even  in  a  limited  sense, 
be  called  muscle-forming  and  developing,  is  the  skilled 
work  of  the  various  artisans.  Even  here  the  black  man's 
force  is  requisitioned  every  time  anything  of  a  laborious 
nature  is  to  be  done,  the  white  man  only  handles  his 
tools  in  the  finer  skilled  work  which  entails  but  little 
physical  strain.  The  class  which  in  European  countries, 
the  other  British  Colonies  and  the  United  States,  must 
live  hard  and  work  hard,  whose  livelihood  depends  on 
labour  which  is  an  imperative  discipline,  which  tightens 
the  fibres,  and  hardens  the  muscles,  does  not  exist  in 
South  East  Africa.  Men  of  this  class  do  come  to  the 
country,  often  unaware  of  the  special  conditions  here, 
quite  prepared  to  toil  in  the  way  they  have  been  ac- 
customed to  do  all  their  lives,  but  they  never  do  so  in 
vSouth  East  Africa.  Even  if  they  desired  so  to  do,  the 
place  and  opportunity  is  not  open  to  them,  the  custom  of 

206 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         207 

the  country  forbids  it,  and  although  they  may  take  off 
their  coats  and  roll  up  their  shirt  sleeves,  it  is  simply 
force  of  habit,  not  to  labour  as  before,  but  to  supervise 
the  black  man.  Their  hard  hands  become  soft,  their 
muscles  flaccid,  as  compared  with  their  peers  in  the  lands 
they  have  left.  It  matters  not  whence  they  came,  Norway, 
Germany,  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Australia,  Canada, 
New  Zealand  :  we  have  had  them  all  and  all  fall  under 
the  spell. 

A  man  owning  his  own  land  may  occasionally  work 
as  hard  for  a  time  at  manual  toil  as  he  did  elsewhere, 
but  even  if  his  energy  does  not  diminish,  he  turns  it  into 
another  channel.  He  realizes  that  he  can  employ  his 
time  to  better  financial  advantage,  and  uses  the  physical 
force  of  the  native,  which  is  so  abundant  and  low-priced, 
and  saves  his  own.  He  organizes  and  supervises,  and  if 
his  energy  does  not  dissolve  away  under  these  easier  con- 
ditions, becomes  rich.  For  the  majority,  the  force  they 
were  constrained  to  put  into  manual  toil  in  other  and  more 
austere  lands  does  not  become  transformed  into  another 
and  higher  form  of  energy  ;  the  easier  conditions  simply 
mean  a  softer  life,  free  from  the  stress  of  physical  de- 
mands, and  allowing  leisure  for  relaxation  and  pleasure. 
This  virile  class,  the  white  manual  labourers,  either  absent 
or  emasculated  with  us,  forms  the  solid  foundation  of 
society  in  the  older  countries  and  all-white  colonies  I 
have  mentioned,  where  the  black  man  is  not. 

Few  who  are  not  students  of  the  science  of  eugenics, 
or  who  are  not  specially  interested  in  the  question  of 
race  development,  are  aware  how  society  tends  to  die  out 
at  its  apex,  and  must  be  constantly  renewed  from 
its  base.  The  titled  families  of  Great  Britain  are  being 
always  strengthened  and  revitalized  by  new  blood  from 
below,  and  even  then  one  is  astonished  to  find  how  few 
can  trace  back  in  the  same  line  for  any  great  length  of 
time.  Many  illustrations  are  given,  it  is  stated  that  only 
five,  out  of  five  hundred  existing  noble  families  of  Britain, 
were  existent  in  the  sixteenth  century.     And  so  with  the 


2o8    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

upper  and  middle  classes  ;  there  is  a  recruitment  from 
the  ranks  always  in  progress.  The  ablest  and  most 
efficient  of  those  who  are  born  to  toil,  work  up  and  re- 
place those  who  have  not  had  their  advantages,  the 
advantages  of  necessary  strenuous  work  which  fits  them 
for  the  struggle.  A  numerous  class  of  men  and  women, 
who  by  the  conditions  of  their  life  are  kept  hard  and  fit, 
braced  by  the  open  air,  with  steady  nerves  and  strong 
muscles,  such  as  were  the  best  of  the  agricultural  labourers 
and  yeomen  of  England,  the  crofters  of  Scotland,  and  the 
Irish  peasantry,  is  the  soundest  basis  of  society.  Until 
the  city  and  industrial  era  began,  all  the  countries  of 
Western  Europe,  the  United  States,  and  the  British 
colonies  had  such  a  class  upon  which  to  draw.  How 
they  will  now  fare  with  this  wholesome  element  attenuated 
almost  to  disappearance,  and  their  places  taken  by  city 
dwellers,  undersized,  anaemic,  deficient  in  vitality  and 
with  highly  strung  nerves,  time  will  show.  In  the  con- 
stant discussions  on  the  question  of  physical  deterioration 
one  can  estimate  the  misgivings  which  are  moving  the 
thoughtful  in  older  lands.  There  the  proletariat,  who 
are  the  most  prolific  portion  of  the  people,  live  under 
conditions  which  are  tragic,  the  essentials  of  a  healthy 
life,  fresh  air,  good  food,  exercise  or  toil  to  harden  and 
strengthen,  are  all  absent,  and  taken  in  conjunction  with 
the  diminishing  birth  rate  in  the  more  socially  effective 
classes,  and  the  reduction'in  number  of  the  vigorous  open- 
air  section  from  whom  they  can  recruit  their  numbers, 
is  serious  indeed  and  may  well  make  the  patriot  pause. 
In  South  East  Africa  we  have  no  large  cities  and  no 
slums.  The  easy  conditions  of  life  include  abundance 
of  fresh  air  (if  people  like  to  take  it),  plentiful  food  (often 
too  much  and  not  simple  enough),  leisure  for  recreation 
and  rest,  including  a  keen  interest  in  sport,  but  in  the 
presence  of  the  black  man  no  such  healthful  toil  as  built 
up  the  fraqjes  and  made  men  of  the  fathers  of  many  of 
the  present  colonials.  At  the  moment  I  am  only  speak- 
ing  of  the   tendency  of  the  easy  conditions  towards  a 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN        209 

certain  amount  of  physical  deterioration  in  the  future, 
and  what  is  perhaps  of  deeper-reaching  effect,  the  absence 
of  a  class  at  the  basis  of  society,  strengthened  by  healthy 
toil,  which  serves  or  did  serve  elsewhere  as  a  secure 
physical  foundation,  and  is  in  its  best  and  most  effective 
members  drawn  upon  by  the  higher  strata  of  society. 

The  original  settlers  of  British  descent  in  South  East 
Africa,  the  1820  settlers  of  the  Cape  Colony  border,  the 
1850  immigrants  into  Natal,  were  an  exceedingly  fine 
stamp  of  men  and  women.  The  former  include  those 
who  have  made  their  mark  in  the  history  of  the  country, 
in  science  and  exploration,  as  soldiers,  as  statesmen,  as 
developers  of  the  land.  The  latter  were  mostly  Scotch 
and  Yorkshire  yeomen  or  agricultural  labourers  of 
the  better  class,  but  including  others  drawn  from  all 
classes  of  society,  restless  energetic  spirits,  who  wanted 
more  room  and  scope  than  the  home  land  could  give.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  men  of  such  virility,  force  of  character, 
resourcefulness,  originality,  enterprise  could  be  got  in 
large  numbers  from  the  old  land  in  these  days.  We  are 
getting  immigrants,  but  not  as  a  rule  such  as  will  make 
up  to  us  for  the  loss  we  are  sustaining  by  the  nature  of 
our  environment ;  usually  town  dwellers  who  come  out 
to  take  up  commercial  appointments,  men  and  women 
with  the  virtues  of  the  best  city  life,  punctual,  energetic 
and  intelligent  in  their  own  somewhat  narrow  sphere, 
but  not  able  to  supply  what  South  Africa  is  likely  to  lack, 
the  physical  vigour  engendered  by  laborious  open  air  toil, 
and  I  may  say  the  resourcefulness  begot  of  a  country 
life. 

Our  environment  is  such,  the  demands  made  upon  our 
race  so  heavy  and  onerous,  our  responsibilities  here  are 
so  great,  that  if  we  face  and  undertake  them  the  best  is 
called  for.  We  have  to  govern  an  overwhelmingly 
numerous,  prolific,  vigorous  people,  and  we  cannot  afford 
to  disregard  any  signs  that  would  seem  to  indicate  a 
possible  shortcoming  in  the  highest  that  is  attainable  to 
us,  physical,  mental-,  moral. 

14 


210    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

And  physical  deficiency,  due  to  lack  of  stress  and  strain, 
implies  that  the  easy  conditions  which  soften  and  prevent 
fitness  and  development  will  also  act  on  other  than  the 
physical  frame.  Daily  and  in  scores  of  ways  the  presence 
of  the  native,  who  seldom  complains,  who  will  undertake 
any  work  demanding  muscular  exertion  which  the  white 
man  asks,  eases  life  for  the  latter ;  where  he  is  absent  the 
white  man  must  think,  arrange,  forecast,  must  use  his 
faculties  in  short,  in  a  way  that  is  not  forced  upon  him 
when  the  native  is  ever  at  call.  Those  who  have  once 
experienced  the  ease  which  his  presence  gives,  when 
in  other  scenes  bewail  his  absence.  I  know  men  who, 
depressed  by  our  problems  here,  have  left  Natal  to  seek 
a  better  land,  and  who  have  returned  and  been  honest 
enough  to  say  that  they  found  life  too  hard  without  the 
black  man.  But  the  question  I  am  asking  now  is  :  What 
is  the  effect  of  his  presence  on  the  morale  of  our  race, 
and  what  of  the  future  ?  I  cannot  but  think  that  what 
these  men  appreciated  here  and  found  lacking  elsewhere, 
will  have  a  tendency  among  many  to  modify  and  probably 
lessen  their  race  efficiency,  not  only  physically,  but  in 
general  character. 

An  illustration.  I  remember  the  bush  picnic  in  New 
Zealand.  Men,  women,  and  children  gather,  and  are  to  go 
by  wagon  and  on  horseback  to  a  beautiful  forest  recess. 
The  horses  are  caught  in  the  paddocks  by  white  men, 
groomed  by  white  men,  harnessed  and  driven  by  white 
men.  The  luncheon  baskets  are  packed  by  white  women 
and  carried  by  them  and  the  children.  Those  who  ride 
on  horseback  round  up  and  saddle  their  own  horses,  and, 
arriving  at  the  scene  of  the  picnic,  off-saddle  and  hobble 
them.  Wood  is  gathered,  water  found  and  carried,  fires 
lit  and  cooking  done  by  the  holiday  makers  themselves, 
and  when  all  is  finished  dishes  washed  and  everything 
cleared,  cleaned,  and  packed  by  those  who  had  enjoyed  the 
outing.  Compare  a  similar  occasion  in  South  East 
Africa.  With  the  exception  of  perhaps  actually  handling 
the  food  the  native  is  ubiquitous.     He  catches  the  horses, 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         211 

harnesses  them,  probably  drives  the  carriages.  He 
certainly  gathers  all  the  wood,  carries  the  water,  lights 
the  fire,  and  as  certainly  does  all  the  washing  up,  and 
everything  is  carried  by  him. 

And  all  through  life  it  is  the  same,  the  essential 
Kaffir  makes  life  easy  for  the  white  man.  It  is  impossible 
to  conceive  that  such  a  difference  in  life  will  not  have 
deep-seated  results  in  character  formation.  The  absence 
of  the  disciplinary  value  of  self  help,  the  ability  to  transfer 
the  unpleasant  to  another,  the  lack  of  a  demand  upon 
our  resource,  will  certainly  have  their  effect,  especially 
on  the  young ;  some  of  us  think  we  can  already  see  it 
evidenced  before  our  very  eyes. 

In  other  ways,  besides  the  direct  one  of  easing  the 
white  man  by  undertaking  all  the  unpleasant  labour,  does 
the  presence  of  the  black  man  make  hfe  less  arduous  for 
him.  The  effects  permeate  the  life  of  the  community  in 
an  intimate  fashion  not  realized  by  the  unthinking,  but 
apparent  to  the  observer  of  social  phenomena.  Men,  who 
otherwise  would  be  earning  the  living  wage  by  heavy 
work,  obtain  highly  paid  appointments  as  compound 
managers,  interpreters,  touts  for  labour.  Others  as 
cattle  buyers,  at  an  advantage  owing  to  their  knowledge 
of  political  events  and  the  state  of  the  markets,  have 
opportunities  of  making  money  which  would  not  occur  if 
the  native  was  not  in  the  land.  The  native  as  rent 
payer  provides  an  income  for  the  collecting  from  lands 
which  otherwise  would  demand  the  expenditure  of  capital 
and  labour  before  they  gave  any  return.  A  large  profit 
on  the  outgoings  has  been  made  by  many  in  the  past,  by 
advancing  money  at  high  rates  of  interest.  Kaffir  store- 
keeping  and  trading  in  mealies,  hides,  and  produce,  though 
not  now  the  monopoly  of  the  European,  has  been  a  com- 
paratively non-laborious  way  of  making  a  living.  None 
of  these  are  illegal,  most  cannot  be  condemned,  by  many 
the  native  derives  some  benefit,  but  such  occupations 
and  opportunities,  demanding  less  effort  than  is  necessar}- 
in  countries   in  which   every    man    must   compete  with 

14  * 


212     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

those  of  similar  calibre  to  himself,  cannot  be  disregarded 
in  forming  an  estimate  of  the  effect  of  the  special  environ- 
ment of  the  white  man  in  this  country. 

I  love  a  concrete  case,  and  I  think  I  can  show  one  in 
the  effect  of  our  environment  on  the  course  of  an  industry 
common  to  ourselves  and  many  lands  with  which  we  so 
often   compare    ourselves.       Horned   cattle   do   well    in 
South  East  Africa,  in  normal  times  they  increase  rapidly, 
are  healthy,  and    form  the  mainstay  of  the  majority  of 
European  farmers.     This  is  as  it  is  in  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  even  Canada.     But  we  have  to  note  a  difference. 
In  those  colonies  cattle  are  reared  and   kept    for   their 
value  as  milk  or  beef  producers,  and  every  effort  is  used 
to  improve  the  strain  in  the  direction  of  earlier  maturity 
and   greater  yield.      Experiments  by  scientific  men  are 
being  constantly  made  and   directed    to  produce    better 
economic   results.     This  means  that  in  these   countries 
there  is  a  steady  pull  towards  improvement,  which  draws 
into  its  current  every  man  engaged  in  this  industry.     Ob- 
serve the  difference  here.     I  was  staying  on  the  farm  of 
a  well-known  cattle  breeder  in  the  midlands  of  South. East 
Africa,  and  went  through  the  kraal  with  him  when  the 
milch  cows  were  up  in  the  evening.     The  usual  perform- 
ance was  going  on.     Half  a  dozen   naked  Kaffirs  were 
milking  in  various  corners  of'the  muddy  kraal,  and  in  each 
case  the  cow  was  attended  by  her  calf,  without  which 
she  refused  to  part  with  her  milk.     The  amount  taken 
by  the  calf,  or  the  proportion  milked  into  the  pail,  was  all 
guess  work  and  at  the  option  of  the  native,  and  whether 
the  calf  at  the  finish  was    hungry  or  gorged   depended 
upon  the  humour  of  the  milkman,  probably  whether  he 
was  in  a  hurry  to  go  to  a  dance  or  intended  to  stay  at 
home  that  evening.      The  cattle  were,  to  the  eye  of  a 
cattleman   familiar  with  the   herds   of   Britain   or   New 
Zealand,    of  very    indifferent    quality,    small    in    frame, 
evidently  taking  long  to  mature,  and  poor  milkers,  but 
also   evidently  hardy  and   suited   to  the  life  they  were 
forced  to  live.     On  the  occasion  in  question,   1  did  not 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         213 

make  any  complimentary  remarks  on  the  cattle,  and  my 
friend  being  in  a  communicative  mood  spoke  in  substance 
as  follows  :  "You  don't  think  much  of  the  quality  of  my 
stock  I  can  see,  and  I  can't  expect  it ;  but  the  fact  is,  the 
Kaffir  dictates  the  kind  of  beast  we  rear  in  this  country. 
I  milk  a  few  cows  and  make  a  little  butter  as  a  bye-pro- 
duct, but  I  rear  cattle  to  sell  to  the  Kaffirs,  and  the  kind 
they  want  is  the  kind  I  grow.  Not  only  will  they  not 
give  an  extra  ten  shillings  for  a  grade  shorthorn  as 
against  a  common  Zulu,  but  they  will  give  but  little  more 
for  a  good  milker  as  compared  with  an  indifferent  one. 
During  the  thirty  years  I  have  occupied  this  farm,  and 
annually  sold  scores  of  cattle  to  natives,  only  once  has  a 
native  made  a  point  of  getting  a  good  milker.  All  he  looks 
for  is  a  beast  that  will  rear  all  her  calves,  and  make  the  herd 
increase  quickly.  So  why  should  I  go  in  for  improve- 
ment ?  To  make  butter  and  cheese  entails  expense  and 
labour,  to  breed  common  cattle  to  supply  native  demand 
is  easy  and  unlaborious.  Besides,  it  has  contingent  ad- 
vantages, it  brings  the  Kaffirs  round,  and  I  can  get  cheap 
labour,  or  make  a  little  by  lending  money,  or  trade  in  other 
things,  all  of  which  brings  grist  to  the  mill."  So  said  my 
friend,  who  was  honest  enough  to  express  what  is  in  the 
mJnds  of  many.  They  profess  to  desire  improvement, 
but  the  black  man  sets  the  pace,  and  the  pace  he  sets  is 
easy  and  they  follow  it.  There  are  men  engaged  in  this 
calling,  who  try  to  emulate  the  breeders  of  other  and  all- 
white  countries,  who  spend  money  and  time  and  intelli- 
gence in  the  improvement  of  their  stock.  But  my  friend 
is  a  familiar  type,  and  this  industry,  with  its  dependence 
on. the  black  man,  is  repeated  with  more  or  less  emphasis 
in  many  others. 

Race  efficiency  is  ultimately  the  result  of  the  struggle 
for  existence,  the  more  equal  the  contestants,  the  keener 
the  conflict,  the  greater  will  be  that  efficienc}-. 

Our  people  in  the  past  centuries  have  had  to  face  and 
provide  against  a  rigorous  climate,  compete  on  equal 
terms  with  those  of  similar  capacity,  have  been  involved 


214    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

in  life  and  death  struggles  with  rivals  of  equal  virility. 
In  individual  life  it  has  been  the  same,  each  man  inces- 
santly striving  for  a  larger  share  of  what  seemed  to  him 
the  best  in  life ;  and  the  result  has  been  that  the  race  has 
attained  a  superiority  which  has  given  us  the  advantage 
over  all  others  with  whom  we  have  come  into  rivalry. 
This  superiority  has  stood  us  in  good  stead  hitherto  in 
this  sub-continent,  but  we  are  faced  by  overwhelming 
numbers  of  a  race  who,  though  much  our  inferiors  in 
social  efficiency,  constitute  a  problem  by  their  very  num- 
bers, fecundity,  and  persistence,  which,  if  it  is  to  be  suc- 
cessfully dealt  with,  will  make  heavy  calls  upon  our  very 
best. 

And  yet — and  yet — it  almost  seems  as  if,  whilst  this 
demand  is  insistent,  forces  are  at  work,  some  of  which 
I  have  outlined,  which  are  tending  to  soften  our  fibre, 
and  to  attenuate  those  wholesome  influences  to  which  we 
owe  so  much  in  the  past.  It  seems  to  be  true  that 
though  the  black  man  in  his  weakness  leans  upon  us,  we 
too  are  taking  advantage  of  his  presence  to  lean  upon 
him,  when,  if  we  would  retain  what  has  been  gained  by 
our  race  in  the  past,  we  should  be  as  self-reliant  as  our 
fathers  were. 

The  various  climates  of  South  East  Africa,  and  their 
effects  on  the  European  constitution  and  temperament, 
have  been  dealt  with.  It  has  been  shown  that  according 
to  altitude  and  distance  from  the  coast  they  were  likely 
to  affect  the  original  type,  the  general  tendency  being  to 
de-energize  and  devitalize.  I  do  not  regard  climatic  con- 
ditions as  being  of  the  same  importance,  as  a  factor  in  the 
well-being  of  the  race  in  the  future,  as  the  ethnic  factor. 
As  both,  however,  have  the  same  trend  and  influence,  to 
make  existence  easier  and  softer,  the  presence  and  effect 
of  both  must  be  remembered  in  forming  a  judgment  on 
this  important  question. 

An  organization  has  been  formed  in  the  Transvaal 
with  the  object  of  encouraging  white  labour.  The  idea, 
as  I  understand  it,  is  to  endeavour  to  substitute  in  many 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         215 

spheres  of  manual  labour,  including  mining,  the  employ- 
ment of  Europeans  for  natives,  gradually  substituting 
the  latter  by  the  former.  The  poorer  South  Africans  of 
European  descent  are  to  be  thus  employed,  and  immigra- 
tion of  whites  of  a  class  likely  to  undertake  such  work  is 
to  be  encouraged.  The  current  prejudice  which  considers 
such  labour  as  derogatory  to  the  white  man  is  to  be 
combated,  and  the  gospel  of  the  dignity  of  labour  is  to 
be  preached. 

Probably  the  final  reason  for  this  movement,  in  the 
minds  at  all  events  of  the  originators,  is  not  the  one  which 
appears  on  the  surface,  and  which  will  be  a  sufficient 
justification  to  some,  viz.  that  employment  must  be 
found  for  many  now  suffering  from  lack  of  work.  I 
would  rather  give  them  credit  for  looking  deeper,  and 
realizing  that  the  immediate  and  more  obvious  economic 
justification  for  their  organization  and  action  is  not  the 
most  vital  and  urgent  one.  I  think  they  must  be  con- 
scious of  the  truth  which  I  have  been  urging,  that  if  our 
race  is  to  retain  its  efficiency  it  cannot  be  on  a  basis  of 
servile  labour.  We  must,  not  for  immediate  economic 
reasons  only,  but  for  the  very  life  of  our  race,  preserve 
some  of  the  conditions,  harsh  and  severe  though  they  be, 
which  helped  to  build  up  our  character  and  fibre  in  the 
past.  If  I  am  right  and  this  is  so,  then  I  am  with  them 
in  the  object  at  which  they  aim. 

But  at  the  same  time  I  feel  that  they  will  have  to 
probe  deeper  into  the  whole  question  of  the  relations  of 
black  and  white  if  they  are  to  achieve  even  partial  success. 
Under  present  conditions,  white  intermingled  with  black 
in  almost  every  sphere  of  life,  with  these  inter-relations 
becoming  more  complex  year  by  year,  the  whole  based  on 
the  idea  that  the  black  man  must  serve,  with  the  erring 
prejudice  and  practice  of  at  least  two  centuries  behind 
us,  is  it  possible,  without  some  conscious  and  basic  re- 
arrangement, to  prevail  on  the  white  man  to  take  a  posi- 
tion he  must  regard,  at  present,  as  derogatory,  and 
unworthy  of  his  race  ?     Under  present  stress,  he  may  for 


2i6    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

a  time  reluctantly  respond,  but,  at  least  as  far  as  South 
Africans  are  concerned,  the  response  would  only  be  partial 
and  intermittent.  But  if  we  adopt  a  policy  which  would 
have  for  its  definite  object  a  separation  of  the  races  as  far 
as  was  possible,  to  reduce  instead  of  increasing  the  points 
of  contact,  and  consciously  and  with  the  force  of  law, 
gradually  it  may  be,  but  without  cessation,  work  towards 
that  end,  it  might  be  possible  to  succeed.  Without  a 
definite  policy  on  the  larger  issues  of  the  future  position 
of  black  and  white  in  South  Africa  I  anticipate  but  a 
small  measure  of  success,  at  best  with  indigent  South 
Africans, 

And  unless  we  can  frame  a  just  and  workable  theory 
in  place  of  the  present  haphazard  method  of  dealing  with 
the  relations  of  black  and  white,  I  would  oppose  the  im- 
migration of  Europeans  to  undertake  manual  labour.  It 
may  be  politic  for  the  United  States  and  Canada  to  en- 
courage immigration  of  all  the  races  of  Europe,  not  only 
Anglo-Saxon,  Teutonic,  and  Scandinavian,  but  Poles, 
Russians,  Italians,  Galicians  and  the  Jews  from  all  these 
countries ;  but  our  conditions  are  so  different  that  what 
is  of  advantage  to  them  may  well  spell  disaster  to  us. 
Whether  we  get  quantity  or  not,  quality  we  must  have. 

It  is  notorious  that  many  European  races  have  not 
that  aversion  to  miscegenation  with  an  inferior  race 
which  is  so  striking  a  characteristic  of  the  Anglo-Saxon- 
Celtic,  the  Teutonic,  and  Scandinavian  races.  To  our 
utmost  power  we  must  carry  out  the  doctrine  that  white 
must  keep  white  and  black  must  keep  black.  The  race 
feeling,  position  in  life,  social  habits  of  many  who  might 
be  introduced  as  labourers,  would  drag  this  salutary  and 
race-saving  doctrine  in  the  dust,  and  ultimately  such  a 
condition  of  affairs  would  supervene  as  would  make  our 
present  problem  seem  simple  indeed  in  comparison. 
Even  if  we  finally  frame,  and  carry  into  practical  working, 
a  policy  which,  among  other  things,  will  minimize  over- 
lapping, admixture,  and  contact ;  any  introduction  of 
large  numbers  of  immigrants,  unless  of  such  a  race  and 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         217 

class  as  would  be  likely  to  live  up  to  our  ideals,  must  be 
discouraged.  Economic  development  may  have  to  stand 
down  if  the  larger  issues  are  threatened. 

Let  us  now  examine,  as  far  as  may  be  possible  in  such 
a  complex  and  difficult  investigation,  the  character  of 
those  of  European  descent  living  in  the  country,  and 
endeavour  to  trace  the  effect  of  their  peculiar  environ- 
ment thereon  so  far  as  it  has  at  present  gone. 

The  Dutch-speaking  population  began  their  life  in 
South  Africa  with  one  advantage  which  must  not  be 
overlooked.  If  the  theory  that  an  admixture  of  blood 
derived  from  the  crossing  of  closely  related  groups  of 
people,  results  in  offspring  with  the  best  qualities  of  both 
parents,  is  true,  then  they  have  been  peculiarly  fortunate. 
I  cannot  call  to  mind  any  modern  people  in  whom  so 
many  virile  sub-races  meet  and  mingle.  The  basis  was 
the  tenacious  Netherlander  ;  and  probably  those  who  came 
to  South  Africa,  though  undoubtedly  including  some  who 
left  their  country  for  their  country's  good,  counted  many 
of  the  best  of  that  adventurous  time.  No  possible 
element  was  more  likely  to  make  up  their  deficiencies, 
and  add  many  virtues,  than  the  French  Huguenots,  who 
form  so  large  an  admixture  in  the  modern  South  African 
Dutch,  as  witness  to  the  French  names  so  common 
amongst  them.  Many  again  are  of  German  descent,  and 
there  is  a  smaller  but  not  negligible  infusion  of  British 
blood. 

In  the  early  days,  and  even  in  parts  until  the  present 
generation,  their  life  was  such  as  to  develop  many  of 
the  best  qualities  of  the  pioneer.  Struggles  for  liberty 
with  their  rulers,  the  constant  fight  with  wild  beasts  and 
savage  man,  the  resource  and  self-reliance  demanded  by 
exploration  in  the  unmapped  and  unknown  interior,  was 
a  schooling  that  made  for  many  virtues.  Isolation,  which 
may  mean  stagnation  for  the  dependent  and  weak,  often 
develops  originality  and  force  of  character  in  the  reliant 
and  strong.  Even  where,  as  in  the  more  settled  parts  of 
the    Cape  Colony,  the  struggle   became  less  one  of  life 


2i8    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

and  death,  the  portion  of  a  farmer  was  not  one  of  con- 
tinuous ease.  Drought,  disease  among  flocks  and  herds, 
wild  animals,  all  had  to  be  faced  and  overcome  or  suffered. 

To  the  Voortrekkers  who  went  to  the  North  and  East 
the  conflict  was  incessant.  The  story  of  their  wanderings 
and  fightings  with  Zulu  and  Basuto  reads  like  a  modern 
epic.  Civilized  and  modern  conditions,  which  I  have 
mentioned  before,  have  only  of  late  years  entered  into 
their  lives,  and  still  a  large  number  show  much  of  the 
ability,  the  resource,  the  self-reliance  engendered  by  their 
troublous  and  strenuous  past.  The  ablest  of  them,  the 
pick  of  the  race,  stand  out  as  being  among  the  very 
finest  pioneers  and  frontier  farmers  the  world  has  ever 
seen. 

It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  this  section  of  the  race, 
that,  despite  the  many  temptations  to  laxity  due  to  a 
long  period  of  wandering,  they  have  maintained  such  a 
high  standard  of  morals,  especially  in  connection  with  the 
inferior  races.  Since  the  great  trek,  the  pioneer  Dutch 
have  regarded  any  social  and  sexual  intercourse  between 
the  black  and  white  races  as  the  last  descent  in  degrada- 
tion, and  very  few  have  transgressed.  Entire  social 
ostracism  would  inevitably  follow  any  breach.  The 
standard  set  in  this  respect  is  much  higher  than  what 
was  demanded  in  the  early  pioneer  days  by  those  of 
British  descent.  There  are,  of  course,  reasons  which 
have  little  to  do  with  the  respective  continence  of  the 
two  peoples.  The  Voortrekkers  were  always  accompanied 
by  their  families,  the  early  settler  of  British  descent  was 
often  a  3^oung  man  from  England  living  a  solitary  life 
among  natives,  not  a  white  woman  or  civilized  influence 
within  a  day's  ride  or  more.  The  Dutch,  however  re- 
mote their  dwellings  might  be,  were  always  under  the 
influence  and  discipline  of  the  Church,  the  British  settler 
might  be  for  years  entirely  cut  off  from  all  organized 
religious  influence.  Without  therefore  making  a  com- 
parison as  to  the  respective  merits  of  the  two  peoples,  we 
may  say  that  the  Dutch  example  in  this  respect  has  been 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         219 

of  inestimable  value  to  the  present  and  future  of  South 
East  Africa. 

But  a  life  such  as  they  led  is  essentially  one  that 
weeds  out  the  weak  from  the  strong.  The  tendency  is 
for  the  strong  to  become  stronger,  the  weak  too  often 
degenerate.  And  so  with  the  Dutch-speaking  Boers, 
those  adapted  to  the  life  by  temperament  gained  strength 
and  virtue,  but  we  may  see  many  who  have  failed.  In 
many  parts  of  South  Africa,  in  the  drought-stricken 
Karroo,  in  the  bush  veldt  of  the  Transvaal,  in  remote 
spots  far  away  from  the  railways,  are  families  who,  as  far 
as  we  can  judge,  have  gone  backwards.  The  game  on 
which  they  subsisted  has  been  decimated ;  they  have 
never  learned  to  work  even  at  agriculture ;  indolent  and 
illiterate,  they  have,  in  these  later  days,  turned  to  the 
Government  for  help,  have  drifted  into  towns,  and  form 
one  of  the  most  insistent  problems  now  before  the 
Government.  Little  can  be  done  with  the  older  people — 
they  are  beyond  redemption,  but  the  race  virtues  are  in 
the  children,  and  if  they  could  be  removed  from  the  base 
influences  surrounding  them,  there  is  much  hope  for  them 
yet. 

If  we  eliminate  the  native,  similar  conditions  to  those 
present  in  South  Africa  have  been  those  ruling  in  most 
of  the  new  countries  settled  by  the  British  and  allied 
peoples.  The  pioneers  in  the  Northern  United  States 
and  Canada  had,  at  least,  as  hard  a  task  before  them  as 
the  Dutch  of  South  Africa.  Indeed  they  had  to  contend 
with  aborigines  far  more  warlike,  vindictive,  cruel,  and 
treacherous  than  either  Bushman,  Hottentot,  or  Abantu, 
and  in  addition  had  to  face  the  rigours  of  a  climate  much 
more  trying  to  the  new  comer  than  the  genial  weather 
conditions  of  South  Africa.  In  Australia  too,  although 
neither  wild  animals  nor  savage  man  were  so  powerful 
or  formidable  as  in  South  Africa,  the  droughts  were  such 
as  to  make  the  work  of  the  pioneer  a  difficult  task.  The 
lives  of  the  early  settlers  in  these  countries  could  not  have 
been  vastly  different  in  these  respects   to   that  of  the 


220    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Boer  people.  The  great  and  fundamental  difference  was 
that,  in  none  of  the  countries  to  which  we  have  looked 
for  a  parallel,  was  there  a  persistent  and  numerous 
coloured  population  willing  to  work  for  the  white  man  ; 
there  was  no  servile  labour;  the  white  man  had  to  do  all 
the  menial  and  hard  work  or  it  was  left  undone.  Have 
we,  in  this  fact,  a  clue  to  the  absence,  in  any  portion  of  the 
rural  population  of  these  countries,  of  a  residuum  com- 
parable to  the  poor  whites  of  South  Africa  ? 

A  clear  distinction  must  be  drawn  between  this  class 
and  the  submerged  tenth  of  the  great  cities  of  modern 
civilization.  Ours  were  bred  in  the  country,  and  degener- 
ated in  spite  of  healthful  surroundings  and  many  factors 
and  conditions  which  ought  to  have  made  for  efficiency 
and  prosperity ;  theirs  were  bred  in  the  city  slums  and 
the  causes  for  their  deterioration  are  totally  different 
from  those  which  produced  the  "poor  white  ". 

We  may  be  helped  by  a  consideration  of  the  problem 
as  it  appears  in  a  country  in  which  the  conditions  are 
more  nearly  like  what  obtain  here.  The  Southern 
United  States  were  settled  originally  by  a  high  class 
of  colonists,  and  like  South  Africa,  after  the  early  years, 
attracted  comparatively  few  immigrants  of  European  race. 

Their  place  was  taken  by  black  men  from  Africa,  who 
there,  as  here,  performed  all  the  manual  labour.  The 
white  population  became  divided  into  two  classes.  The 
able,  who  through  slave  labour  often  became  wealthy, 
and  had  all  the  advantages  of  wealth,  and  who  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Union  had  a  political  power  and  prestige 
far  beyond  that  of  the  Northern  States.  Along  with 
them  a  degraded  class  of  whites — the  mean  whites  of  the 
South.  Too  proud  to  work  themselves,  accustomed  to 
see  the  black  and  coloured  man  do  all  the  manual 
labour,  too  lazy,  or  self-satisfied,  or  race  proud  to  make 
effort  to  improve  themselves,  many  remain  to  this  day. 
A  singular  parallel  to  the  position  in  South  Africa.  There, 
as  here,  they  are  a  problem  the  Governments  have  been 
unable  to  solve. 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         221 

It  seems  to  me,  that  in  the  absence  of  this  class  in  the 
country  districts  of  the  Northern  States,  Canada,  Australia, 
and  New  Zealand,  and  in  its  presence  in  the  Southern 
States  and  South  Africa,  we  must  look  for  the  reason  in 
the  one  fundamental  condition  common  to  the  two  last 
and  absent  in  the  former ;  the  presence  of  a  servile  race 
causing  the  white  man  to  look  upon  labour,  with  its 
antiseptic  medicinal  virtues,  as  a  degradation. 

Sir  Walter  Hely  Hutchinson,  as  Governor  of  Natal 
from  1893  till  1900,  and  as  the  Governor  of  the  Cape 
Colony  from  that  date  until  Union  became  an  accomplished 
fact,  an  experience  of  seventeen  years,  had  ample,  almost 
unique,  opportunity  to  study  this  phase  of  our  question. 
In  speeches  delivered  before  leaving  South  Africa,  and 
again  particularly  in  a  lecture  given  to  the  members  of  the 
Royal  Colonial  Institute,  he  emphasizes  the  fundamental 
difference  between  South  Africa  and  the  other  great  self- 
governing  colonies  as  being  essentiall}-  this  one  of 
black  labour,  and  gives  instances  from  personal  observa- 
tion of  its  effects.  He  is  clear  and  explicit  in  his  con- 
clusion. Speaking  of  the  poor  white  class,  he  says  : 
"  Kaffir's  work  they  will  not  do,  skilled  labour  they 
cannot  do.  They  sink  and  sink  and  live  in  misery 
and  wretchedness,  the  poor  whites  as  they  are  called, 
objects  of  compassion,  and,  alas  !  of  contempt  even  to  the 
natives,  relying,  not  a  few  of  them,  on  the  natives  for 
assistance  to  preserve  them  from  starvation.  The  poor 
white  problem  is  one  of  the  most  pressing  of  South 
African  problems.  //  is  in  a  sense  the  direct  resitlt  of  native 
and  coloured  environment^  There  is  no  ambiguity  about 
the  opinion  of  one  of  the  able  pro-consuls  Britain  has  sent 
to  South  Africa,  and  one  whose  opportunities  for  obtaining 
the  fullest  information,  and  forming  a  sound  judgment 
thereon,  were  very  great. 

The  presence  of  the  persistent  yet  adaptive  black  man 
seems  to  set  up  a  cleavage  in  the  white  race.  Those  who, 
whilst  accepting  the  situation,  accept  it  with  its  responsi- 
bilities— responsibilities  of  government  and  of  individual 


222    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

development,  and  thus  retain  their  race  fibre  ;  and  those 
who,  accepting  the  easy  conditions  of  merely  animal  life 
set  up  by  the  presence  of  a  lower  race,  lose  their  fibre 
and  degenerate. 

So  far,  among  the  farmers  and  country  dwellers  of 
British  descent,  there  is  no  class  who  are  degenerate  as 
are  the  poor  whites  among  the  Dutch.  The  tradition  of 
work,  world  subduing  energy,  economic  development,  is 
the  dominant  note  to-day  among  the  farmer  colonists  of 
British  descent.  Agricultural  progress  of  all  kinds,  the 
improvement  of  stock,  the  best  kinds  of  machinery,  are 
perennial  subjects  of  conversation.  It  is  probable  that 
the  amount  of  actual  performance  is  small  as  compared 
with  the  talk — one  often  hears  of  admirable  theories  and 
schemes  enunciated  by  those  who  will  never  put  them 
into  actual  operation.  This  talk  seems  often  a  relief  and 
justification  to  many  who  must  regard  themselves  as 
executive  failures ;  still  the  spirit  is  one  of  work,  of  ad- 
vancement in  work.  In  many  cases  those  who  have 
shown  what  can  be  done,  i who  have  been  pioneers  in  new 
enterprises,  and  through  many  difficulties  have  reached 
success,  are  sons  of  the  soil,  men  born  in  South  East 
Africa.  Though  in  some  cases  with  a  rather  narrow  out- 
look, they  often  display  energy,  executive  ability,  and 
organizing  power  in  their  special  work,  quite  abreast  of 
that  of  the  best  immigrants. 

But  there  are  still  a  minority,  home-born  and  colonial, 
who  have  yielded.  In  some  cases  it  merely  means  that 
they  live  an  easy  life,  do  little  work,  trust  to  the  native 
for  most  things,  and  if  they  go  wrong  put  up  with  the 
loss  philosophically,  or  blame  and  abuse  the  native  ac- 
cording to  temperament.  In  others  we  see  various  stages 
of  degeneracy  down  to  absolute  indolence  and  familiarity 
with  the  native,  terminating  in  miscegenation.  Once  that 
is  reached  the  white  man  is  lost,  he  may  struggle  and 
pretend  that  he  still  retains  his  self-respect,  and  at  meet- 
ings of  men  attempt  to  assert  himself,  but  invariably  the 
consciousness  of  effort  is  present,  and  a  general  coldness 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         223 

of  those  present  accentuates  it.  But  generally  a  mis- 
anthropic aloofness  is  the  characteristic  of  those  who  have 
fallen  so  far. 

I  suppose,  in  the  opinion  of  the  average  South  African, 
the  admixture  in  blood  of  the  races  is  the  worst  that  can 
happen,  at  least  for  the  white  race,  and  possibly  for  both. 
He  does  not  realize  at  present  the  significance  of  the 
change  in  character  likely  to  be  wrought  in  the  great 
majority  in  many  subtle  ways,  by  reason  of  our  power 
over  and  dependence  upon  the  black  man.  But  he  can  see 
the  degradation  of  the  white  man,  the  ambiguous  position 
of  the  children,  often  the  resentment  of  the  native  in  cases 
of  miscegenation  ;  and  he  deplores  it  as  the  ultimate  evil 
due  to  contact  of  the  races.  There  is  no  condonation 
on  the  part  of  the  Dutch,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the  same 
attitude  is  taken  up  by  the  vast  majority  of  the  British. 
It  is  possible  a  few,  believing  the  final  issue  must  be  a 
mixing  of  races,  regretfully  accept  what  seems  to  them 
the  inevitable  ;  and  still  fewer  may  agree  with  Sir  Sidney 
Olivier,  that  miscegenation  is  not  to  be  deplored,  but  will 
result  in  a  mixed  people  with  the  good  qualities  of  both 
strains,  a  race  with  a  great  work  to  do  in  the  future.  No, 
as  I  say,  the  vast  majority  deplore  and  condemn,  and 
with  these  I  must  range  myself  Whatever  may  be  the 
position  of  the  woman,  that  of  the  man  is  one  of  degrada- 
tion, and  if  no  other  argument  was  possible,  the  anomal- 
ous position  of  the  children  should  be  sufficient  warrant 
to  make  for  utter  condemnation. 

I  was  travelling  once  in  an  up  country  post-cart.  A 
well-dressed  white  man  of  some  forty  years  of  age  occupied 
the  seat  of  privilege,  the  box  seat  next  the  driver.  In  the 
middle  seat  of  the  cart,  behind  him,  were  two  little 
coloured  girls  of  some  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age, 
clean,  and  healthy  looking,  well-dressed,  and  with  not 
unintelligent  faces.  At  the  back  were  two  European 
children  of  somewhat  similar  age  travelling  with  a  relative. 
I  know  now  that  the  man  on  the  box  seat  was  the  father 
of  the  two  coloured  girls,  he  had  married  a  native  woman 


224    BLACK  AND  WHITP:  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

and  was  taking  his  children  home  for  the  holidays,  from 
a  boarding-school  for  coloured  children,  which  they  at- 
tended. During  the  whole  of  the  day's  journey,  not  a 
word  did  I  hear  that  parent  address  to  his  poor  children, 
nor  did  they  converse  together  except  in  an  occasional 
whisper.  The  two  white  children,  evidently  going  for  a 
holiday,  were  irrepressible,  full  of  the  joy  of  their  age  and 
surroundings.  Question  and  answer,  quip  and  crank, 
admiration  of,  and  interest  in,  the  scenery  ;  their  pleasure 
and  delight  filled  the  day.  The  contrast  to  the  poor 
little  coloured  ones  was  pathetic,  and  gave  no  room  for 
doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  man  who  betrays 
his  race. 

The  position  in  Natal,  Zululand,  and  East  Griqualand 
has  been  somewhat  changed  and  modified  of  late  years. 
In  the  past  when  individual  hunters,  traders,  and  pioneer 
farmers  first  went  into  the  land,  it  was  not  uncommon 
for  them  to  take  native  women  to  wife,  paying  lobolo  and 
marrying  them  according  to  native  custom.  A  few 
actually  did  marry  according  to  Christian  rites,  but  these 
latter  were  always  few  in  number.  Some  districts  were 
much  more  addicted  to  the  practice  than  others ;  possibly 
the  fashion  was  set  by  a  person  of  strong  character  and 
influence  and  followed  by  others,  and,  as  I  have  said,  the 
presence  of  the  Dutch,  even  in  small  numbers,  restrained 
or  prevented  it  in  some  districts.  As  a  rule  the  practice 
did  not  extend  after  the  settlement  of  an  area  by  white 
families  ;  it  was  the  outcome  of  an  early  primitive  state 
of  things,  and  probably  at  the  present  time  in  the  country 
districts,  there  is,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  less 
mixing  of  the  races  by  concubinage  and  marriage  than 
in  the  past. 

The  weakening  of  restraint  in  their  homes,  the  facili- 
ties for  travelling,  and  the  frequent  visits  paid  by  native 
girls  and  women  to  villages  and  towns,  have  made  more 
common  another  form  of  intercourse  of  a  casual  nature, 
which,  unlike  the  last,  is  probably  increasing.  Except  in 
the  vicinity  of  one  or  two  mission  stations,  where  the 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN         225 

people  had  got  notoriously  lax  and  out  of  hand,  there 
was  not  in  the  old  days  very  much  casual  sexual  connec- 
tion between  the  races,  and  practically  none  between 
Europeans  and  kraal  girls.  But  the  influences  tending 
towards  liberty  and  license,  of  which  I  have  so  frequently 
spoken,  is  changing  all  this,  and  the  results  are  in  many 
ways  worse  than  the  settled  concubinage  and  marriage 
of  the  early  days.  The  natives  themselves  deplore  it, 
and  one  of  the  most  common  complaints  of  the  fathers 
and  guardians,  before  the  Natal  Native  Commission,  was 
the  seduction  of,  and  intercourse  with,  their  girls  by  white 
men.  The  Commission  was  so  impressed  with  the 
gravity  of  the  position,  that  they  recommended,  in  the 
true  interests  of  both  races,  that  all  connection  between 
natives  and  other  than  natives  be  made  a  criminal  offence. 
This  form  of  intercourse,  though  it  is  not  confined  to 
them,  is  most  frequent  in  the  villages  and  towns,  and 
there  is  evidence  to  show  it  is  increasing.  In  this  case 
there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  lowering  of  the  woman 
as  well  as  of  the  man  ;  the  whole  position  is  full  of  danger 
to  both  races. 

In  the  interests  of  both  races  laws  have  been  passed 
and  in  force  for  many  years,  making  it  illegal  for  natives 
to  have  in  their  possession,  or  consume,  any  intoxicants 
other  than  their  own  native  beer.  The  profits  derivable 
from  the  supply  of  European  liquor  to  natives  are  so 
great,  that  some  licence  holders  and  Europeans  of  low 
class  have  not  hesitated  to  carry  on  an  illicit  trade. 
Married  men,  living  on  licensed  premises  with  their  wives 
and  children,  have  become  so  degraded,  that  they  have 
broken  the  law  in  the  face  of  those  who  should  have  been 
dearest  to  them,  and  I  have  seen  intoxicated  natives, 
horrible  to  behold,  actually  lying  incapable  or  staggering 
with  drunken  and  incoherent  shout  in  the  presence  of 
little  white  children  !  The  effect  of  such  a  state  of  things, 
even  if  its  grossness  was  not  often  so  great  as  I  have 
described,  upon  white  and  black,  men,  women  and 
children,  on  those  who  were  breaking  the  law,  and  those 

15 


226    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

who  were  unworthily  condoning,  is  impossible  to  ade- 
quately express.  My  experience  leads  me  to  think  that 
this  evil  is  not  so  rife  as  it  once  was,  and  that  public 
opinion  views  this  offence  with  greater  severity  than  was 
the  case  some  few  years  ago.  Fortunate  indeed  that  it 
is  so.  But  the  opportunity  and  temptation  still  remain, 
and  that  it  may  take  new  and  unforeseen  phases  is 
evidenced  by  the  following  cutting  from  the  **  Natal 
Mercury"  of  December,   1910: — 

"  Our  attention  has  recently  been  drawn  to  what  is  a 
very  seriou^  phase  of  the  native  liquor  question  in  con- 
nection with  methylated  spirits,  which,  as  is  known, 
many  natives  will  drink  with  avidity;  and  the  matter  is 
the  more  serious  for  it  has  been  ascertained,  and  the 
authority  is  unimpeachable  in  the  case  in  question — it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  case  is  an  isolated  one — that  small 
European  boys,  members  of  respectable  families,  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  supplying  natives  with  methylated 
spirits,  which  they  bought  on  their  behalf  at  a  neighbour- 
ing chemist,  and  though  arrests  have  been  made,  the 
matter  has  not  come  to  public  notice,  owing  to  the  bail 
system,  the  boys  and  natives  arrested  having  forfeited 
their  bails.  The  facts  are  briefly  as  follows  :  A  Berea 
tradesman  finding  that  the  natives  in  his  employ  were 
frequently  drunk,  and  that  many  strange  natives  and 
native  women  visited  his  native  quarters,  made  inquiries, 
and  found  that  two  European  lads  were  supplying  them 
with  methylated  spirit  or  some  other  liquor,  with  the 
result  that  he  gave  the  police  at  the  local  station  per- 
mission to  enter  his  natives'  quarters  at  any  time  and 
arrest  all  trespassers.  Acting  on  this  permission,  the 
police  raided  these  quarters  the  same  evening  and  found 
there  two  European  lads  and  half  a  dozen  natives,  whom 
they  arrested,  the  natives  then  being  all  more  or  less 
under  the  influence  of  liquor,  whilst  one  of  the  white  boys 
had  a  bottle  of  Cape  wine  (pontac)  in  his  possession,  and 
all  were  consequently  charged  with  trespassing.  One  of 
the  lads  denied  that  he  was  then  supplying  the  natives 


THE  EFFECT  ON   THE  WHITE  MAN         227 

with  methylated  spirit,  but  said  that  during  the  past 
three  months,  he  and  some  five  other  boys,  whose  names 
he  gave,  and  whose  ages  ranged  from  eleven  years  to 
seventeen,  had  on  two  occasions  supplied  these  natives 
with  methylated  spirit,  and  mentioned  that  they  got  the 
spirit  from  a  neighbouring  chemist.  The  boys'  parents 
were  communicated  with,  and  they  were  released  on  bail 
which  was  forfeited." 

There  are  other  results  following  the  coming  together 
of  the  races  in  towns  which  must  be  mentioned  as  likely 
to  have  an  effect  on  our  race.  The  increasing  laxity  of 
discipline  at  their  homes,  and  the  general  tendency  to 
freedom  from  restraint,  has  resulted  in  manifestations  of 
lawlessness  on  the  part  of  the  young  natives  in  the 
towns,  which  is  of  interest  as  a  possible  indication  as  to 
one  phase  which  may  be  expected  to  develop  in  the 
future  from  the  relaxation  of  control,  before  any  prepara- 
tion is  made  to  provide  a  guide  or  check  to  take  its  place. 
In  some  Natal  and  Transvaal  towns,  even  in  Pietermaritz- 
burg,  where  the  old  traditions  have  vogue  to  an  extent 
lost  elsewhere,  gangs  of  native  boys  and  young  men 
take  the  streets  at  nights,  armed  with  sticks  and  some- 
times more  dangerous  weapons,  and  attack  and  rob  both 
people  of  their  own  race  and  Europeans.  On  several 
occasions  they  have  resisted  the  police  and  seriously 
injured  constables  and  officers,  both  white  and  black, 
attempting  their  arrest.  There  is  considerable  difficulty 
in  tracing  them,  but  they  have  at  times  been  brought  to 
book,  and  exemplary  sentences  have  been  passed  on 
them. 

I  would  be  prepared  to  regard  such  disturbances,  if 
they  occurred  only  among  themselves  like  faction  fighting, 
as  of  the  nature  of  a  game,  and  a  little  blood-letting  be- 
tween themselves  I  would  wink  at  or  punish  lightly — boys 
will  be  boys.  But  these  city  gangs,  which  appear  to  be 
organized,  are  in  a  different  category.  They  show  that 
the  respect  for  the  white  man,  and  for  law  and  order,  so 
conspicuous  a  feature  in  the  character  of  the  fathers  of 


228    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

these  boys,  is  no  more,  and  that  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
attack  and  maim  the  uniformed  representative  of  the 
white  man's  law. 

The  streets  of  many  towns  are  overrun  with  native 
boys,  selling  newspapers,  or  nominally  doing  other  casual 
work,  imbibing  eagerly  all  that  panders  to  self-gratifica- 
tion, who  should  be  either  under  discipline  at  their  homes 
or  at  regular  work.  Untaught  and  under  no  control,  they 
go  to  swell  the  hooligan  gangs  before  mentioned.  Some 
of  my  friends  have  been  so  impressed  with  the  growing 
evil  of  this  street  Arabism  that  they  desire  to  prevent  all 
boys  below  a  certain  age  coming  into  towns  at  all. 

This  chapter  is  primarily  intended  to  show  the  effect 
of  race  contact  on  the  whites,  and  this  exordium  on  native 
city  Arabs  and  hooligan  gangs  may  not  seem  to  the 
point.  But  white  youths  and  boys  mix  with  native 
youths,  not  as  equals,  but  in  a  casual  way,  and  this 
association,  as  the  white  population  increases,  is  likely  to 
become  more.  Lawlessness  and  vagabondage  have  attrac- 
tions for  white  as  well  as  black,  and  the  effect  on  the 
white  youth  of  the  lower  class  of  this  element,  may  in  the 
future  be  very  considerable  as  it  is  very  undesirable. 

The  effect  of  the  possession  of  power  over  a  people, 
regarded  as  inferior,  on  immature  or  unbalanced  natures, 
may  be  seen  exemplified  in  the  attitude  of  some  white 
youths  towards  the  natives,  whether  servants,  or  depend- 
ants, or  otherwise.  There  are  many  exceptions,  but  too 
often  a  domineering  and  masterful  tone  is  adopted,  which 
would  be  immediately  resented  by  a  white  man,  dependent 
or  not,  but  which  the  native  puts  up  with,  without  out- 
ward protest.  He  is  not  injured,  but  the  white  youth  is  ; 
I  cannot  think  that  the  impunity  with  which  discourteous 
and  inconsiderate  acts  can  be  committed  is  likely  to  be 
innocuous  to  the  character  in  the  making  of  those  who 
follow  us. 

The  evil  effects  of  contact  are  more  generally  recog- 
nized in  the  case  of  younger  children,  who  are  nursed  by 
black  boys.     Unfortunately  at  the  most   impressionable 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN        229 

age,  young  children  of  both  sexes  are  left  in  entire  charge 
of  natives,  who  are  often  engaged  specifically  for  this 
work  in  the  most  casual  way,  without  regard  to  the  state 
of  their  health,  character,  or  morals.  The  irresponsible 
carelessness  on  the  part  of  parents,  which  allows  such  a 
state  of  things,  is  probably  the  result  of  a  reaction  from 
the  native  to  the  European.  The  love  of  ease,  the  ir- 
responsibility of  the  native,  must  have  its  effect  on 
the  average  employer,  and  it  seems  to  be  shown  in  this 
case,  in  which  the  sacred  duties  of  parenthood  are  evaded, 
and  a  responsibility,  for  which  he  is  utterly  unfit,  is  placed 
upon  the  native. 

In  this  connection  Mr.  P.  A.  Barnett,  late  Superinten- 
dent of  Education  in  Natal,  in  his  paper  on  "  Problems 
and  Perils  of  Education  in  South  Africa,"  says  :  "  It  is  an 
appalling  fact  that  in  the  great  majority  of  Natal  homes, 
the  place  of  the  kindergarten  teacher  is  occupied  by  a  Kaffir 
boy  or  girl  who  may  be  vicious,  and  is  probably  stupid. 
Most  little  white  Natal  children,  the  heirs  of  our  noble 
and  consecrated  language,  speak  an  infantile  Kaffir  better 
than  they  speak  English  and  in  preference  to  it.  Not  only 
are  there  English  parents  who  are  not  ashamed  that  little 
Tommy  or  Polly  can  understand  and  only  speak  this 
miserable  jargon,  but  there  are  English  fathers  and 
mothers  who  boast  that  they  never  allow  their  Kaffir 
servants  to  speak  to  themselves  or  their  children  in 
English.  A  more  deliberately  wrong-headed  and  mis- 
chievous practice  it  would  be  hard  for  empirical  stupidity 
to  invent.  At  the  beginning  of  school  life  in  Natal,  little 
English  children  have  often  to  be  taught,  not  only  to 
speak  English,  but  to  understand  it  when  they  hear  it. 
They  talk  and  think  in  Kaffir  so  long,  and  at  an  age  so 
delicate  and  susceptible,  that  for  the  rest  of  their  lives 
they  escape  the  effects  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty. 
Their  development  is  often  permanently  arrested  and 
the  mischief  becomes  inveterate  because  they  must  needs 
go  on  spending  their  adolescent  and  adult  lives  in  an 
atmosphere  pervaded  by  Kaffirdom.     They  do  not,  like 


230    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  Anglo-Indian  child,  quit  the  lower  association  and 
have  done  with  it.  Cases  have  been  reported  to  me  of 
pupils  well  trained  in  European  schools  reverting  to  their 
infantile  associations  on  returning  home,  and  losing  all 
the  cultivation  and  intellectual  alertness  which  they 
brought  from  school.  A  corresponding  moral  deteriora- 
tion is  almost  inevitable.  The  use  of  the  Kaffir  boy  or 
girl  drudge  as  nurse  or  kindergartener  brings  other  evils 
in  its  train.  The  things  about  which  a  Kaffir  talks, 
innocently  enough  in  his  own  stage  of  development,  are 
not  the  things  we  would  have  our  little  ones  habitually 
hear,  and  the  traditional  secular  practices  of  the  black 
folk  are  sometimes  ineffably  foul." 

The  dangers  and  degenerative  influences  of  the  special 
phase  with  which  we  are  now  dealing,  the  nursing  of 
young  children  by  native  boys,  is  so  much  more  obvious 
than  most  of  the  less  palpable  effects  of  contact,  that  it 
has  awakened  some  public  attention.  An  association 
has  been  formed  in  Natal  with  the  object  of  endeavouring 
to  reform  the  present  objectionable  methods.  It  may  be 
possible  to  arouse  the  public  conscience  and  minimize 
the  evils  on  this  matter,  but  at  the  root  of  this  and  less 
obvious  dangers,  lies  the  fact  that  contact  is  bound  to 
have  its  effect — it  is  a  law  of  nature,  and  no  temporary 
expedients  will  suffice  to  eliminate  or  thwart  it.  As  the 
twig  is  bent, the  tree  is  inclined,  and  the  constant  intimate 
presence  of  those  whose  influence  is  against  that  of  the 
higher  nature  at  the  most  susceptible  time  of  life,  is  in- 
calculable and  cumulative. 

At  all  times  in  this  country,  instances  happen  of  undue 
familiarity  of  black  men  to  white  women,  culminating  in 
indecent  assault,  or  even  rape.  A  case  of  unusual  brutality 
at  length  occurs,  and  the  white  population  is  roused  to 
indignation  and  demands  the  death  of  the  offender,  or 
occasionally  takes  the  law  into  its  own  hands.  Feeling 
runs  so  high  that  calm  judgment  is  suspended,  and  no  at- 
tempt is  made  to  trace  effects  to  causes,  but  one  insistent 
cry  goes  up  that  the  punishment  shall  be  of  such  a  drastic 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN        231 

nature  as  to  be  in  itself  a  sufficient  deterrent.  It  is 
hardl}^  likely  that  such  outrages  will  become  less  frequent 
if  this  is  the  only  course  adopted.  By  all  means  let  the 
punishment  be  the  heaviest  that  can  be  inflicted,  but  let 
us  realize  that  the  very  conditions  under  which  we  live 
tend  to  wear  away  the  respect  of  the  black  man  for  the 
white,  and  that  many  of  our  actions  directly  encourage 
crimes  of  this  nature.  I  do  not  wish  to  emphasize  the 
shameful  scenes  that  may  be  w^itnessed  in  Johannesburg, 
and  even  other  populous  centres,  which  tend  to  bring 
white  women  into  disrepute  with  the  natives.  All 
colonists  know  and  deplore  them.  In  two  cases  of  out- 
rage lately  reported  obscene  photographs  were  found  in 
the  possession  of  the  culprits.  Where  did  they  obtain 
them  and  from  whom  ?  But  these  direct  incentives  to 
contemptuous  passion  are  winked  at  or  condoned,  until  a 
wave  of  unbridled  license  and  lust  seems  to  pass  over 
the  land,  and  the  innocent  suffer  for  the  abominations  com- 
mitted by  the  guilty.  South  Africans  have  been  extra- 
ordinarily law-abiding  up  to  the  present  under  this  most 
extreme  provocation  to  their  manhood,  but  it  is  quite 
possible  that  at  any  time  events  may  occur  resulting  in 
such  scenes  as  are  enacted  in  the  Southern  States.  The 
passions  then  aroused,  the  suspension  of  reason,  the  de- 
fiance of  the  law,  even  if  only  temporary,  must  have  an 
effect  on  the  character  of  those  who  appeal  to  brute  force, 
and  indeed  on' the  community,  which  wnll  have  far-reach- 
ing and  most  disastrous  effects. 

Much  too  briefly  in  his  address  on  the  native  question 
before  the  congregation  of  the  University  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  did  Lord  Selborne  touch  on  the  dangers 
of  assimilation.  He  merely  pointed  out  the  fact  that  the 
assimilation  of  some  of  the  race  characteristics  of  the 
Abantu  were  inevitable,  and  bade  us  ponder  them  well. 
We  have  seen  this  is  operating  in  the  impinging  of  the 
native  on  our  inner  family  life. 

I  repeat  that  I  regard  both  races  as  having  special 
race  characteristics  of  value   to  them  and   humanity  at 


232    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

large,  which  I  would  sacrifice  much  to  preserve.  The  as- 
similation need  not  necessarily  be  altogether  of  such 
obvious  degenerative  effect  as  would  be  implied  in  learn- 
ing bad  language  and  indecent  or  coarse  gestures  and 
habits.  It  involves  a  more  subtle,  intangible,  and  inward 
change,  the  deposition  in  the  fibre  of  his  nature  of  some 
portion  of  the  ego  of  the  black  man,  a  corresponding  re- 
tarding of  his  own  individual  and  race  development.  A 
transmutation  unseen,  but  not  the  less  intimate.  Lord 
Selborne  points  out  that  the  more  civilized  the  Abantu, 
the  fewer  objectionable  and  unnatural  traits  there  will  be 
for  the  Europeans  to  assimilate.  Possibly  true,  but  the 
obviously  objectionable  and  unnatural  traits  can  be  seen 
and  checked,  and  are  less  dangerous  to  the  purityof  our  race 
life  than  the  insidious  influences  which  emanate  unseen. 

Subtle  indeed,  and  not  easy  to  trace,  are  the  influences 
— degenerative  or  uplifting — which  are  induced  by  the  in- 
timate contact  of  race  with  race.  We  can  often  only  trace 
them  after  lapse  of  time,  and  then  involved  with  a  number 
of  other  social  phenomena.  But  we  may  be  sure  they  are 
present,  ever-present,  ever-acting,  ever-cumulative.  The 
net  result  of  such  contact  in  his  present  stage  of  develop- 
ment is  hardly  likely  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  native,  and 
certainly  is  not  good  for  us. 

The  influences  born  of  the  possession  of  power  un- 
checked, which  tend  to  warp  the  right  and  true  instincts 
of  our  race,  and  which  will  act  and  react  in  many  unpre- 
dictable ways,  are  difficult  to  define.  Occasionally  one 
comes  across  a  concrete  case.  In  a  certain  South  African 
town,  which  I  will  not  indicate  further,  a  petition  was 
sent  in  to  the  corporation  by  the  painters  of  the  town,  pro- 
testing against  the  custom  of  allowing  natives  to  paint 
the  electric  tram  posts.  A  report  was  called  for  and  sent 
in.  This  report  pointed  out,  that  although  the  painting 
of  the  lower  portion  of  the  poles  was  simple  unskilled 
work,  merely  daubing  the  paint  on  a  plain  surface,  the 
upper  portion  was  more  intricate,  and  involved  a  certain 
amount  of  danger  to  the  workmen  from  the  electric  cur- 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN        233 

rent.  It  was  decided  to  allow  the  black  man  to  continue 
to  undertake  the  somewhat  dangerous,  but  more  skilled 
work  at  the  top  of  the  poles,  at  his  low  rate  of  pay,  the 
white  operator  to  have  the  safe  and  unskilled  work  at  the 
bottom,  at  skilled  labour  prices  !    Could  irony  go  further? 

In  all  1  say  I  am  bearing  in  my  mind  the  average  man. 
If  I  saw  signs  that  the  leisure  enjoyed  by  him  was  em- 
ployed in  self-improvement,  in  thinking  out  the  problems 
which  cry  aloud  for  solution,  my  views  might  be  modified. 
If  self-discipline  took  the  place  of  the  discipline  forced 
upon  our  peers  living  under  sterner  conditions,  if  freedom 
from  toil  meant  the  voluntary  acceptance  of  a  higher  re- 
sponsibility, I  might  regard  the  ease  given  by  the  black 
man's  labour  as  a  blessing  to  our  race,  a  forecast  of  the 
time  prophesied  by  the  reformers,  when  all  shall  have 
leisure,  and  employ  that  leisure  in  their  own  development 
and  for  the  advantage  of  mankind. 

This  I  cannot  see,  much  as  I  would  like  to  do  so,  at 
present.  I  only  perceive  an  absence  of  those  driving 
forces  which  elsewhere  have  made  men  fit,  and  tended  to 
the  advancement  of  the  race. 

But  there  is  a  class  in  every  community  which  is  a 
discipline  unto  themselves,  who  are  largely  superior  to 
their  environment,  who  make  their  own  characters,  who 
transform  their  temptations  into  virtue.  And  we  also 
have  such.  Over  them  the  natives  have  no  such  influences 
as  I  have  described.  In  matters  material,  the  abundance 
of  native  labour  induces  them,  by  its  promise  of  enhanced 
returns,  to  larger  schemes  of  industrial  organisation  than 
would  otherwise  be  possible,  and  entails  a  strenuous  and 
ever-watchful  attitude  to  make  the  best  of  it.  The  free- 
dom from  manual  toil,  and  its  attendant  leisure,  gives  them 
opportunity  for  mental  pleasures  and  attainments  other- 
wise impossible.  And  more,  such  a  one  feels  the  responsi- 
bilities and  problems  which  he  must  undertake  by  reason 
of  the  presence  of  the  black  man,  and  this  responsibility 
does  not  rest  upon  him  lightly,  but  is  a  force  which  tends 
to  develop  many  of  his  highest  powers. 


234    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Under  present  conditions  the  influences  at  work  may, 
for  the  majority,  mean  a  tendency  towards  degeneration  ; 
the  same  influences,  transmuted,  may  in  the  case  of  the 
select  few  work  for  a  higher  development  than  would  be 
possible  if  the  problems  and  difficulties  were  absent.  The 
man  in  South  East  Africa  who  ignores  his  responsibilities 
and  simply  takes  the  ease  which  his  environment  allows 
is  freed  from  demands  which  elsewhere  keep  him  in  race 
training— they  are  the  many  ;  the  man  who  faces  his  re- 
sponsibilities seriously,  and  scorning  ease  lives  laborious 
days,  will  have  a  training  engendered  by  the  very  causes 
which  in  the  other  may  mean  degeneration — these  are  the 
few. 

We  are  dealing  with  the  race  and  not  primarily  with 
individuals,  and  such  a  forecast  is  not  a  pleasant  one  for 
the  race.  We  want  a  high  standard  of  efficiency  and  life 
for  the  many,  and  a  policy  for  the  future  that  shall  make 
this  its  aim,  and  we  should  consciously  take  such  steps  as 
may  tend  to  ensure  it.  This  policy  I  will  try  to  indicate 
later.  Meantime,  whatever  such  may  be,  however  far  it 
may  or  may  not  deserve  recognition,  one  thing  is  certain. 
If  the  white  race  in  South  Africa  is  to  keep  its  position, 
not  ease  and  sloth,  but  the  highest  development  of  all  its 
faculties,  will  be  increasingly  needful.  We  cannot  afford 
that  any  of  the  ruling  race  should  fall  behind  ;  physically, 
mentally,  morally — all  should  be  calculated  to  ensure  the 
respect  of  those  under  our  charge.  An  idle  dissolute 
European  is  a  menace  and  danger  to  the  race.  The 
standard  of  morals  should  be  high,  and,  whilst  eschewing 
luxury,  the  standard  of  living  should  not  be  allowed  to 
fall.  Our  children  in  the  primary  schools  should  be  taught 
that  they  have  a  race  responsibility,  and  the  terms  of  that 
responsibility.  They  should  be  taught  the  history  and 
character  of  the  people  they  are  called  upon  to  rule,  and 
enjoined  to  treat  them  with  courtesy  and  consideration — 
it  is  their  duty  as  governors.  And  in  our  higher  schools, 
ethnology  as  a  science,  and  ethnology  as  applied  to  social 
questions  and  government,   should    be   included    in   the 


THE  EFFECT  ON  THE  WHITE  MAN        235 

curriculum,  and  should  be  one  of  the  subjects  qualifying  for 
a  university  degree.  Much  is  demanded  of  our  race  else- 
where, but  in  a  homogeneous  population  with  the  same 
ideals,  understanding  each  other,  a  certain  slackness  of 
fibre  may  not  be  disastrous  ;  here  we  cannot  afford  such — 
all  must  be  at  the  highest  pitch.  A  counsel  of  perfection  ! 
Yes,  but  we  have  been  given  much,  and  of  us  much  will 
be  required. 

How  far  we  fall  short,  on  the  educational  side  alone, 
may  be  seen  by  the  following  quotation  from  a  lecture 
delivered  by  Mr.  P.  A.  Barnett,  M.A.,  sometime  Chief 
Inspector  of  Schools  and  Superintendent  of  Education  in 
Natal,  before  the  Royal  Colonial  Institute,  on  "  Problems 
and  Perils  of  Education  in  South  Africa  "  :  "  The  Superin- 
tendent of  Education  in  Cape  Colony  in  his  last  published 
report  notes  with  satisfaction  that  during  the  last  year 
the  ratio  of  white  children  receiving  education  has 
increased  by  2 '21  per  cent.  For  many  years  this  ratio 
has,  he  points  out,  been  on  the  downward  trend,  and  the 
figures  are  eloquent.     The  actual  figures  are  these  : — 

1898.    1899.     1900.    1901.    1902.     I903' 

Ratio  per  cent  of  white  pupils     42*00       40"58       3977       38'ii       36-88       39'09 
,,  ,,       coloured    „         58-00       59'42       60*23       61-89       63-12       60*91 

The  excess  of  coloured  children  attending  school  over 
white  is  now  (1905)  33,660  but  in  1902  it  was  38,967." 

Mr.  K.  A.  Hobart  Houghton,  B.A.,  of  Lovedale,  read  a 
paper  before  the  South  African  Association  for  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  in  1906,  on  "  European  Children  in  South 
Africa  not  receiving  any  School  Education,"  and,  though 
he  points  out  how  difficult  it  is  to  arrive  at  any  really 
accurate  estimate  of  the  numbers  of  European  children 
of  school-going  age  who  are  receiving  no  kind  of  instruc- 
tion whatever,  some  of  the  facts  and  figures  he  gives  are 
sufficiently  disquieting.  His  inquiry  into  the  position 
in  the  Cape  Colony  shows  "  that  approximately  30,000 
white  children  in  Cape  Colony,  or  23*3  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  of  school-going  age,  are  neither  receiving 
instruction  nor  engaged  in  any  occupation. 


236    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

"  In  Natal  he  considers  some  4000  are  without  school 
instruction. 

'•  In  the  Transvaal  there  are  62,6'jy  white  children  be- 
tween the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen  of  whom  2$'i2,7  are 
receiving  no  school  education. 

"  In  the  Orange  Free  State  the  white  children  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  fourteen  are  about  37,000,  of  these 
over  20,000  receive  no  school  teaching." 

The  position  to-day  has  no  doubt  improved,  but  is 
still  so  far  from  satisfactory  that  solemn  warnings  have 
lately  been  uttered  by  educational  authorities  and  serious 
journalists,  telling  the  people  of  the  danger  to  the  State 
of  such  a  dense  mass  of  ignorance  in  their  midst. 

Whatever  policy  may  be  adopted,  we  have  the  native 
here  among  us  in  South  Africa,  he  will  impinge  upon  us 
do  what  we  will,  he  will  become  educated  and  strive  for 
the  recognition  due  to  his  efforts  and  achievements.  We 
cannot  ultimately  deny  it.  Some  would  keep  him  back, 
and  meantime  we  enjoy  the  time  of  sloth,  ease,  and 
pleasure.  Fatuous  policy ;  deny  the  debt  whilst  compound 
interest  is  ever  accumulating  !  Far  better  to  face  the  facts, 
help  on  the  native  in  his  reasonable  ambitions,  and  at  the 
same  time  realize  that  our  race  position  demands  such 
effort  on  our  part,  that  whilst  denying  him  no  fair  oppor- 
tunity, we  may,  by  strenuous  effort,  keep  in  the  proud 
but  onerous  position  to  which  we  have  been  called. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES. 

After  a  prolonged  struggle  against  the  autocratic  rule  of 
the  governing  powers  in  the  old  Cape  Colony,  the  Dutch- 
speaking  colonists  of  European  descent  won  for  them- 
selves a  measure  of  self-government,  and  the  spirit 
animating  them  in  the  conflict  was  fully  evidenced  when 
the  Voortrekkers,  types  of  the  race,  setup  Governments  of 
their  own  in  the  North.  Republics  in  name,  oligarchies 
in  fact ;  for  whilst  every  white  man,  as  a  white  man,  was 
a  ruler  and  had  an  equal  voice  in  shaping  the  destinies  of 
the  country,  every  black  man,  because  he  was  a  black 
man,  was  debarred.  The  Grondwet  or  fundamental  law 
of  the  Transvaal  did  not  allow  of  mistake,  and  specifically 
laid  it  down  that  there  shall  be  no  equality  of  black  and 
white  in  Church  or  State.  The  same  condition  of 
things  prevailed  in  the  Orange  Free  State.  The  spirit 
evidenced  elsewhere  was  similar.  Strictly  within  the 
limits  of  the  white  community,  the  most  democratic  spirit 
prevailed.  White  men  differed  in  education,  wealth,  and 
ability,  but  no  real  disability  was  placed  on  any  by  reason 
of  deficiency  in  these  things.  True,  there  were  some 
property  and  educational  tests  for  the  franchise,  but  they 
were  not  supposed  to  act  to  the  exclusion  of  the  whites, 
the  very  fact  that  he  was  a  white  man  made  him,  ipso 
facto,  a  ruler,  and  in  this  respect  the  equal  of  the  best. 

In  the  Cape  Colony,  a  number  of  natives  acquired  the 
right  to  vote,  but  even  to-day  the  total  number  is  singu- 
larly small.  When  responsible  government  was  granted 
to  that  Colony  in  1853,  no  distinction  was  made  in  the 
franchise  as  to  race  and  colour.     A  feeling  arose  that 

^37 


238    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

some  test  of  fitness  should  be  applied,  and  an  educational 
and  property  qualification  was  demanded  and  provided 
for  under  the  amended  law  of  1894.  Although  these 
tests  were  not  high — ability  to  read  and  write,  an  income 
of  £^0  a  year,  or  the  ownership  of  immovable  property  of 
the  value  of  i^75, — after  all  these  years  there  are  only  some 
eight  thousand  full-blooded  natives  on  the  electoral  rolls. 

With  this  question  of  representation  we  must  deal 
later,  meanwhile  a  general  statement  may  be  made  with 
regard  to  the  political  position  in  South  East  Africa, — a 
statement  which  is  not  invalidated  in  any  material  degree 
by  what  I  have  shown  to  be  the  different  position  in  the 
Cape  Colony  in  regard  to  the  franchise ;  a  position  of 
affairs,  it  may  be  admitted,  that  ought  to  be  always 
realized  by  the  white  men  in  this  country,  and  ought  to 
be  constantly  remembered  by  them,  but  which  we  are  too 
apt  to  forget,  and  thus  forgetting  we  think  and  act  as  if 
the  position  in  South  Africa  was  the  same  as  in  the  other 
great  self-governing  colonies.  When  fundamental  truths 
are  forgotten  or  ignored,  there  is  all  the  more  need  that 
they  should  be  frequently  and  forcibly  reiterated. 

Here  we  have,  in  a  country  in  many  respects  well 
fitted  to  be  the  home  of  the  white  man,  a  large  European 
population  who  have  made  it  their  heritage,  and  who 
intend  to  pass  it  on  to  their  children,  governing  it,  as  far 
as  they  are  concerned,  by  modern  democratic  methods, 
yet  being  the  oligarchs  to  a  huge  black  proletariat,  living 
right  in  and  amongst  them,  who  are  without  any  political 
rights.  It  is  a  situation  unique  in  the  British  Empire, 
it  provokes  problems  in  the  consideration  of  which  we 
can  get  little  or  no  guidance  elsewhere,  and  yet  the  great 
majority  of  those  who  have  this  vast  responsibility  do  not 
appear  in  the  least  to  realize  it.  Every  European,  or 
nominal  European,  every  Semite  from  Russia  or  Poland, 
who  may  be  illiterate,  unable  to  speak  the  English 
language,  and  utterly  unacquainted  with  our  forms  of 
government,  becomes,  by  the  very  fact  of  being  classed 
as  a  European,  the  ruler  of  from  five  to  ten  black  men, 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     239 

natives  of  the  land,  often  better  men  physically,  mentally, 
and  morally  than  this  individual  who  holds  the  destinies 
of  half  a  score  of  them  in  his  hand. 

A  stranger  interested  in  sociological  questions,  who 
had  read  of  the  various  races  living  in  South  East  Africa 
and  wished  to  study  them  on  the  spot,  who  landed  during 
the  time  of  a  general  election  and  attended  the  usual 
election  meetings,  might  well  be  excused  for  thinking 
that  all  he  had  read  of  these  different  races  forming  the 
population  of  the  country  was  a  myth.  Little  in  the 
addresses  of  the  candidates,  in  the  questions  asked  of 
them  by  the  electors,  would  indicate  that  we  were  not  a 
homogeneous  people  with  one  aim,  one  ideal,  though 
with  different  methods  of  working  towards  its  realization. 
An  occasional  statement  that  the  native  question  was 
one  of  great  importance  and  would  need  most  careful 
study,  or  some  similar  vague  generalization,  would  be 
the  only  indication  that  each  elector  (in  Natal  at  all  events) 
was  responsible  for  the  well-being  and  government  of 
ten  black  men.  Plenty  about  matters  immediately  affect- 
ing white  men — imports,  exports,  education,  railways, 
harbours,  quotations  of  what  was  done  in  progressive 
countries  and  calls  to  emulation  ;  but  no  apparent  realiza- 
tion that  in  South  East  Africa  we  were  in  a  totally  differ- 
ent position  to  the  countries  so  freely  quoted  or  that  our 
situation  was  so  exceptional. 

A  people  under  democratic  conditions  have  the  task 
of  governing  a  very  much  larger  population  living  in  the 
midst  of  them,  who  have  no  word  in  such  government. 

This,  of  course,  is  the  position  of  the  electorate  of 
Britain,  who  are  the  rulers  of  hundreds  of  millions  of 
backward  people  in  India,  Egypt,  and  the  isles  of  the  sea, 
who,  as  with  our  black  people,  have  no  voice  in  their  own 
destiny.  The  difference  with  us  in  South  East  i\frica  is 
that  the  subject  people  are  living  in  our  midst.  This  fact 
is  what  makes  for  complexity  and,  if  I  may  say  so,  for 
danger.  The  British  electorate,  realizing  that  they  know 
nothing  of  these  alien  peoples  living  under  such  different 


240    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

conditions  thousands  of  miles  away,  yet  anxious  to  do 
justly  by  them,  trust  the  task  of  governing  them  to  men 
specially  chosen  and  qualified,  with  whom  they  seldom 
interfere.  In  South  East  Africa,  owing  to  the  intimate 
contact  of  the  races,  the  clash  of  interests  (as  the  white 
man  wanting  labour,  the  black  man  repose)  prompt  the 
people  and  their  representatives  in  Parliament  to  take 
upon  themselves,  too  often  without  due  thought  or  know- 
ledge, the  duties  which  in  the  case  of  the  British  people 
are  given  into  the  hands  of  highly  qualified  experts.  It 
is  true  that  while  the  natives  are  quiet,  and  labour  is 
plentiful  and  the  white  man  is  prospering  and  making 
money,  the  usual  course  is  to  ignore  them,  and  only  pass 
such  legislation  affecting  them  as  will  tend  to  quietude, 
and  in  cases  help  or  not  hinder  their  exploitation.  The 
common  attitude  of  electors  and  representatives  alike  is 
indifference  to  the  native  question,  and  yet  this  electorate, 
for  the  most  part  unlearned  in  all  affecting  the  natives, 
and  usually  so  busy  with  its  own  affairs  as  to  be  culpably 
careless  about  them  and  their  interests,  has  in  its  hands 
all  ultimate  power, — a  power  which  may  easily  become 
very  dangerous. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  lines  upon  which  the  Govern- 
ments responsible  for  the  natives  in  South  East  Africa 
have  so  far  exercised  these  enormous  powers,  and  also 
consider  certain  definite  or  implied  theories  and  policies 
advocated  which  have  aroused  some  public  attention,  and 
which  might  be  adopted  by  Government  if  they  were 
pressed  thereto  by  the  electorate.  This  examination  will 
probably  show  that  certain  conceptions,  forming  part  of 
these  policies  and  theories,  may  well  be  embodied  in  a 
scheme  applicable  to  the  present  time  which  I  propose 
to  try  to  frame,  and  which  should  also  include  certain 
conclusions  which  I  have  already  indicated  are  held  by 
me  on  the  questions  of  land,  labour,  education,  and 
missions. 

In  the  Transvaal,  which  ruled  nearly  a  million  resident 
black  men,  apart  from   nearly   three   hundred   thousand 


PAST 'POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     241 

temporarily  employed  but  having  their  homes  elsewhere, 
the  position  was  fairly  clear.  The  Grondwet,  which  so 
clearly,  concisely,  and  cynically  laid  down  the  relative 
positions  of  black  and  white,  disappeared  as  a  defined 
policy  at  the  close  of  the  war  in  1902,  but  the  practice 
was  not  greatly  changed.  State  and  municipal  regula- 
tions were  based  on  the  superiority  of  the  white  man, 
and  the  position  of  the  races  was  largely  that  of  em- 
ployer and  employed.  I  need  not  recite  the  privileges 
given  to  the  one  race  and  the  disabilities  placed  on  the 
other ;  if  quoted  in  detail  they  would  fully  justify  the 
general  conclusion  laid  down.  The  keynote  was  the 
absolute  governance  of  the  white  man. 

In  Natal  an  ordinance  was  passed  in  the  fifties  of  the 
last  century  providing  that  only  a  limited  number  of 
kraals,  sufficient  to  provide  the  necessary  labour  for  the 
white  occupier,  should  be  allowed  on  any  one  farm. 
This  law,  though  still  on  the  statute  book,  has  been 
utterly  ignored  and  has  been  a  dead  letter  for  many 
years.  I  do  not  think  any  living  man  remembers  it 
being  put  into  operation.  It  may,  however,  be  fairly  as- 
sumed that  those  who  were  responsible  for  it  aimed  at  a 
separation  of  the  races  as  far  as  might  be,  and  intended 
that  only  such  natives  should  live  their  home  life  along- 
side the  whites,  as  were  actually  necessary  to  fulfil  the 
labour  requirements  of  the  latter.  This  assumption  is 
strengthened  when  we  remember  that,  about  the  same 
time,  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  whole  area  of  Natal  proper 
(2,192,568  acres  out  of  a  total  of  12,800,000  acres)  was 
laid  out  in  locations  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  natives. 
This  provision  was  more  than  ample  for  the  Abantu  then 
living  in  the  colony,  and,  I  think,  clearly  indicates  the 
policy  of  the  early  lawgivers  and  administrators,  which 
was,  that  the  races  should,  as  far  as  possible,  live  their 
lives  apart.  Practical  administration  was  based  upon 
two  principles';  the  one  aimed  at  securing  peace  in  the 
land,  the  other  that  the  native  should  have,  as  repre- 
sentative of  Government,  a  man  known  to  and  trusted 

16 


242    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

by  them,  who,  whilst  the  official  mouthpiece  and  executive 
hand  of  the  Government,  should  be  a  father  and  protector 
to  the  people. 

The  first  principle  was  secured  by  the  policy  of  keep- 
ing the  tribes  separate,  and  thus  the  tribal  differences  and 
animosities  were  perpetuated,  and  combination  in  a 
common  cause  against  Government  made  difficult  or 
impossible.  The  second  was  admirably  secured  by  the 
appointment  of  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone  (Somtseu)  as 
Permanent  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs. 

Realizing  also  that  the  tribal  system  would  not  last 
for  all  time,  that  however  we  might  strive  to  cement  it, 
the  altered  conditions  would  gradually  bring  about  dis- 
integration ;  and  recognizing  that  an  increasing  number 
would  receive  education,  and  desire  to  be  free  from  the 
servitude  and  obligations  of  tribal  life,  provision  was 
made  that  any  native,  after  passing  certain  tests  and 
satisfying  the  authorities  that  he  was  fitted  in  all  respects 
for  a  more  responsible  individual  life,  might  obtain  ex- 
emption from  native  law,  and  come  under  the  operation 
of  the  ordinary  law  of  the  colony.  And  further,  that  on 
passing  other  tests  and  making  it  clear  to  the  Supreme 
Chief  that  he  was  living  a  civilized  life,  he  might  attain 
the  franchise,  and  become  in  all  respects  as  a  white  man 
in  the  eye  of  the  law. 

The  native  policy  of  Natal  has  had  many  critics, 
principally  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  desire  native  ad- 
vancement, and  many  hard  things  have  been  said  of  the 
colony  and  the  backward  condition  of  the  native  popula- 
tion ;  and  their  revolts  against  Government  have  been 
instanced  to  point  the  moral.  I  venture,  however,  to 
say  that  at  the  time  the  policy  I  have  outlined  was 
framed,  it  would  have  been  difficult  indeed,  to  have  pro- 
pounded one  better  suited  to  the  conditions  of  the 
colony  and  its  Abantu  population.  And  it  had  the 
special  virtue,  that  it  was  based  on  principles,  some  of 
which  we  may  endorse  to-day  as  being  essential  to  any 
enlightened  native  policy.     I  fully  believe  in  the  follow- 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     243 

ing  fundamental  principles  which  were  evidently  in  the 
minds  of  the  early  Natalians  : — 

Separation  of  the  races  as  far  as  may  be,  giving  each 
an  opportunity  of  living  its  own  race  life. 

Fatherly  rule  for  the  majority. 

Provision  for  the  emancipation  from  tribal  rule  and 
custom  as  they  become  fully  fitted  and  desire  it. 

The  fault  in  Natal  did  not  lie  in  the  policy  laid  down 
in  practical  fashion  by  the  early  authorities,  our  faults 
were  later,  and  here  our  critics  may  find  some  justifica- 
tion. We  forgot  the  native,  we  were  so  busy  with  our 
own  affairs — building,  importing,  farming,  making  money 
and  taking  our  pleasure — that  we  had  no  time  to  think  of 
the  man  upon  whose  manual  labour  we  were  raising  our 
superstructure.  We  only  gave  attention  to  native  affairs 
when  legislation  was  thought  necessary,  which,  though 
directed  at  him,  was  often  primarily  in  our  own  interest. 
It  was  not  realized  that  his  environment  was  changing 
and  affecting  the  conditions  of  his  life  and  character,  and 
that  we  should  give  a  weighty  thought  to  his  affairs. 
Without  realizing  again  the  cumulative  effect  of  our 
direct  and  indirect  impingement  upon  him,  we  also  forgot 
the  effect  constant  pin-pricks  have  even  upon  the  most 
stolid.  We  suffered  and  they  suffered ;  and  the  inquiry 
to  which  I  have  frequently  referred  was  held,  and  the 
above  conclusions,  and  others  I  have  mentioned  in  other 
places,  were  brought  home  to  us. 

Another,  to  which  I  have  not  made  an  implicit  reference 
till  now,  must  be  made  clear.  It  was  that  Parliament,  as 
at  present  constituted,  was  not,  from  the  nature  of  things, 
fitted  to  undertake  the  governance  of  a  race  unrepresented 
among  its  members,  with  such  different  wants  and  ideals 
to  ours.  That  the  democratic  representative  form  of 
government  which  had  been  gradually  evolved  during 
the  life  history  of  our  race,  and  perhaps  the  best  method 
and  machinery  for  our  government,  was  not  suited  to 
that  of  a  backward  race  living  in  our  midst.  That,  as  in 
Britain   it   was   regarded  as   unwise    for    Parliament   to 

16  * 


244    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

interfere  with  too  direct  a  hand  in  the  affairs  of  Egypt 
and  India,  but  ruled  them  through  pro-consuls  and  trained 
executive  officers  of  great  ability  and  special  training  and 
aptitudes  ;  so,  though  Parliament  must  decide  on  the  lines 
of  general  policy,  constant  interference  is,  in  the  highest 
degree,  mischievous.  To  do  so  would  mean  the  antithesis 
of  what  is  absolutely  necessary  in  the  government  of  a 
backward  people — ^personal,  continuous,  and  consistent 
rule.  The  general  tendency  would  be  to  neglect  native 
interests,  with  a  periodical  awakening  under  the  influence 
of  conscience,  fear,  or  some  other  hidden  or  abstruse 
motive  unknown  to  the  native  population,  and  an  ignorant 
interference  more  harmful  than  the  previous  indifference. 
I  suppose  the  Legislative  Assembly  and  Council  of 
Natal  contained  a  larger  proportion  of  members  who  had 
lived  their  lives  among  the  Abantu,  and  spoke  their 
language,  than  it  is  ever  possible  to  get  in  a  Union 
Parliament,  It  was  more  directly  to  the  interests  of 
their  constituents  and  of  themselves  that  the  natives 
should  be  peaceful,  content,  and  well-governed  than  it  can 
possibly  be  for  the  members  of  the  Union  Parliament. 
Yet,  neglect  too  often  alternated  with  unwise  action.  In 
Natal  there  were  no  political  parties  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term,  and  the  uttermost  evil,  that  of  making  native 
affairs  the  subject  of  party  politics  and  strife,  was,  fortun- 
ately for  us,  not  present.  In  the  Union  Parliament,  party 
strife  is  likely  to  be  keen  indeed.  Fortunately,  I  think 
the  good  sense  of  both  sides  will  prevent  the  interests  of 
the  natives  being  made  the  subject  of  party  politics. 
Heaven  help  black  and  white  alike,  if  we  should  descend 
to  that.  But  the  utmost  self-restraint  is  necessary,  and 
as  was  pointed  out  by  the  Natal  Commission,  which  went 
more  fully  into  this  aspect  of  the  question  than  any  other 
deliberative  and  advisory  body  I  know.  Parliament  must 
consciously  realize  that  it  is  not  fitted,  by  its  constitution, 
to  deal  with  this  question  in  detail,  and  must  be  prepared 
to  delegate  its  undoubted  powers  to  those  who  are  specially 
fitted  to  do  so.     Whom  these  should  be  under  the  new 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     245 

condition  of  things  set  up  in  South  Africa  by  the  Act  of 
Union  I  will  try  to  indicate  later;  but  meantime,  I  will 
strengthen  the  position  I  have  taken  up  by  a  few  quota- 
tions from  the  Natal  Report  of  1906-7,  which,  though  not 
continuous  or  consecutive,  will  show  the  matured  opinion 
of  that  body  on  this  most  important  aspect  of  the  question. 

In  Clause  8.  "  In  their  inexact  and  unreflective  way  they 
attribute  all  their  troubles  to  the  Government,  which  they 
believe  either  originates  or  permits  or  sanctions  all  that 
has  changed  their  life  from  the  simplicity  of  the  past  to 
the  uncertain  conditions  of  the  present.  Reasoning  as 
they  do,  they  see  the  hand  of  Government  in  the  high 
rents  and  labour  demanded  by  landlords,  the  various 
taxes  they  have  to  pay,  the  numerous  passes  or  permits 
they  have  to  be  provided  with,  the  restrictive,  unfamiliar, 
and  unknown  laws  they  have  to  submit  to,  the  compulsory 
service  they  have  to  render  on  public  works,  and  the 
disintegration  of  their  tribal  and  family  systems." 

Clause  23.  "  Faced  by  the  many  problems  of  this  inter- 
minable question,  the  ordinary  Minister  with  his  uncertain 
tenure  of  office,  is  satisfied  if  he  tides  over  difficulties  and 
maintains  the  status  quo,  and  he  is  thus  under  disabilities 
from  the  commencement." 

Clause  24.  "It  is  therefore  intended  to  discuss  else- 
where the  absolute  necessity  of  relieving  the  Minister  for 
Native  Affairs  from  the  duty  of  attending  to  the  details 
of  native  management,  reserving  to  him  merely  the 
direction  of  the  final  approval  of  a  policy  and  dividing 
the  responsibility  of  arrangement  and  action  between  a 
permanent  Council  and  a  number  of  specially  qualified 
officers." 

Clause  29.  "These  remarks  (on  the  present  unsatis- 
factory position)  are  intended  to  lead  up  to  the  suggestion 
that  both  the  administrative  and  legislative  sides  of  the 
Government  should  earnestly  reconsider  the  whole  scheme 
of  native  administration.  If  this  be  delayed  or  neglected 
the  warning  should  be  given  that,  without  claiming  the 
possession   of  predictive   powers,  the  cumulative  effect 


246    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

of  the  immense  mass  of  evidence  justifies  the  right  to 
foretell  with  reasonable  accuracy  what  the  result  of  a 
refusal  to  adopt  and  apply  alleviative  measures  will  be, 
viz.  continued  discontent  and  distrust  and  a  possible 
further  explosion  of  the  pent-up  forces  of  disaffection. 
Relying  upon  the  diagnosis  which  has  been  made,  mere 
palliatives  will  not  suffice,  as  the  rill  of  discontentment 
to-day  will,  if  not  controlled,  become  the  torrent  of  mal- 
contentment  to-morrow.  We  should  not  expect  a  race 
yet  in  its  childhood  to  act  in  a  manner  befitting  developed 
and  matured  humanity,  hence  their  inclination  to  appeal 
to  force  rather  than  to  reason  for  a  redress  of  what  they 
consider  their  wrongs." 

Clause  32.  "  New  conceptions  work  slowly  ;  still  it  may 
be  asked  with  all  deference  whether  Parliament  is  the 
best  qualified  body  to  make  laws  by  which  almost  every 
act  of  these  people  is  to  be  governed.  It  is  apparent  to 
all  who  understand  the  question  that  the  natives  are 
being  over-administered,  and  that  they  are  ignorant  of 
many  of  the  laws  which  affect  themselves." 

Clause  5^.  "  Parliament  in  1891  retracted  the  powers  it 
vested  in  1887  in  the  administration  of  the  country,  and 
has  since  then  enacted  all  laws  affecting  the  natives,  not 
only  of  a  general  character,  but  also  those  regulating 
their  relations  with  each  other.  Considering  its  origin 
and  composition,  Parliament  stands  virtually  in  the 
relationship  of  an  oligarchy  to  the  natives,  and  naturally 
it  studies  more  the  interests  of  the  constituencies  to 
which  the  members  owe  their  election  than  to  those  who 
had  no  voice  in  their  election,  more  'particularly  when 
the  interests  of  the  represented  conflict  with  those  of  the 
unrepresented." 

Clause  35.  "The  administration  of  native  affairs 
must,  if  it  is  to  be  successful,  have  a  self-contained  basis 
of  its  own  based  on  the  autocratic  principle  of  control. 
Seemingly  it  cannot  be  reiterated  too  often  that  the  form 
of  government  w^hich  we  have  devised  and  evolved  for 
ourselves  throughout  many  centuries  cannot  be  co-ordin- 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     247 

ated  to  a  people  so  widely  different.  Races  so  divergent, 
if  ruled  alike,  must  draw  apart  and  become  antagonistic 
unless  one  party  greatly  predominates  and  forces  the 
other  into  submission.  Wisdom  and  justice  point  to  a 
better  way,  the  natural  and  scientific  as  opposed  to  the 
theoretical  and  artificial." 

Clause  39.  "Sufficient  has  now  been  said  to  indicate 
that  we  have  been  rnoving  too  fast  in  our  endeavour  to 
impose  an  advanced  political  system  upon  a  race  yet  in 
its  infanc}^  clinging  to  the  past  and  fearful  of  the  strange 
and  unknown.  But  before  proceeding  to  outline  the 
suggested  scheme,  it  should  be  remarked  that  the  mov- 
ability  of  ruling  officers,  which  is  the  chief  feature  of 
responsible  government,  not  only  passes  their  compre- 
hension but  excites  their  apprehension.  They  understand 
why  the  Governor  as  representative  of  the  Sovereign 
should  be  changed,  but  it  fills  them  with  astonishment 
that  Ministers  should  come  and  go  without  apparent 
reason.  Not  only  do  Ministers  change,  but  their  ideas 
of  treatment  vary  also,  and  this  raises  suspicion  and  en- 
genders distrust.  The  seat  and  centre  of  authority 
should  therefore  be  visible  and  permanent,  accessible  and 
helpful,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances." 

Clause  40.  "  To  obviate  the  disadvantages  inherent  in 
a  system  which  we  may  approve  for  ourselves  but  which 
is  not  in  its  essentials  adapted  to  a  people  yet  under  the 
patriarchal  system.  Parliament  should  be  urged  to  grant 
a  charter  within  such  limits  as  will  be  indicated  enabling 
it  the  more  effectually  to  control  and  improve  the  natives, 
much  in  the  same  way  as  a  township  can  be  better 
governed  by  a  municipality  than  by  the  central  authority 
of  the  country.  It  is  no  part  of  this  proposition  to 
divorce  native  administration  from  the  general  govern- 
ment of  the  country,  and  the  bogey  cry  of  an  *  imperium 
in  imperio  '  need  not  therefore  be  raised.  Neither  should 
it  be  denounced  as  empirical  and  visionary,  for  it  can  be 
supported  both  by  experience  and  analogy.  In  addition 
to  municipalities  all  incorporated  societies  control  their 


248    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

own  affairs  within  the  limits  of  their  constitution,  and  so 
does  our  railway  department,  which  is  merely  continued 
as  an  institution  by  Act  of  Parliament  but  makes  its  own 
rules  and  regulations  to  carry  on  its  own  work.  Refer- 
ence might  also  be  made  to  the  British  Army,  which 
exists  only  by  the  will  of  the  Legislature  without  interfer- 
ence with  its  internal  economy." 

Clause  41.  "Enough  therefore  has  been  advanced  to 
show  there  is  abundant  precedent  for  the  proposal,  and  if 
any  further  statement  be  necessary,  it  will  be  sufficient  to 
point  out  that  the  Legislature  by  Law  44  of  1887  went  far 
in  the  same  direction  by  delegating  to  the  Administrative 
side  of  Government  the  codification  of  native  law  and 
the  preparation  of  rules  relating  to  natives.  Parliament, 
however,  for  some  undisclosed  reason  withdrew  this 
power  by  Law  19  of  189 1,  since  when  all  changes  in  purely 
native  law  have  been  made  solely  by  the  Legislature,  a 
body  which  cannot  claim  to  be  specially  equipped  for  the 
purpose.  Moreover,  all  such  changes  have  been  introduced 
without  any  reference  to  the  people  themselves,  who  thus 
have  just  reason  to  complain  that  they  are  in  ignorance 
of  such  laws,  and  indeed  of  many  other  enactments  affect- 
ing themselves  until  they  are  told  to  obey  them  or 
punished  for  not  obeying  them.  It  is  in  this  respect  that 
Parliament  may  rightly  be  regarded  as  an  oligarchy 
in  its  relationship  to  these  people,  notwithstanding  all 
that  may  be  said  about  the  general  representation  of  the 
natives  being  included  in  the  special  representation  of  the 
Europeans.  To  show  how  baseless  such  arguments  are, 
it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  the  game  laws,  the  pass 
laws,  and  the  morality  act  among  others  would  never 
have  taken  their  present  form  had  native  opinion  been 
fully  understood  and  insisted  upon  in  Parliament.  It  is 
partial  and  ill-considered  legislation  of  this  character 
which  forces  the  native  to  seek  some  voice  in  the 
councils  of  the  State,  the  Christian  native  calling  for 
it  in  Parliament,  the  others  in  less  definite  form." 

Clause  42.   "  Parliament  should,  therefore,  not  grudg- 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     249 

ingly  or  reluctantly,  but  in  a  broad  and  enlightened  spirit, 
from  an  honest  conviction  of  its  necessity  and  wisdom, 
entrust  some  of  its  own  powers,  formulated  as  a  constitu- 
tion, to  the  administration  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
more  effective  and  progressive  control  over  the  natives." 

Thus  the  Commission,  by  a  sequence  of  logical  reason- 
ing, showed  that  Government  of  the  people,  for  the  people, 
by  the  people,  must  not  be  pushed  to  its  final  issues  when 
part  of  the  people  are  on  a  different  plane  and  unrepre- 
sented. They  did  more,  they  showed  how,  without 
violation  of  the  principles  of  representative  government, 
adaptations  could  be  made  to  suit  our  unusual  conditions. 
As  I  said  before,  following  somewhat  tardily  on  the 
appearance  of  this  Report,  the  Natal  Government  of  the 
day  brought  in  a  Bill  embodying  some  of  the  practical 
suggestions  of  the  Commission  based  on  the  principles 
outlined  above.  I  need  not  further  allude  to  them,  as  I 
propose  to  include  in  the  recommendations  I  venture  to 
make,  an  application  to  the  wider  sphere  now  made  pos- 
sible by  the  adoption  of  Union  by  South  Africa.  Sufficient 
experience  has  been  gained  to  show  the  truth  and  value 
of  the  principles  and  the  best  method  of  their  application 
to  a  wider  area. 

The  system  of  government  which  has  been  applied  to 
Basutoland  must  be  considered.  The  early  history  of 
the  Switzerland  of  South  Africa  is  one  of  constant 
struggle  for  independence.  Bravely  they  strove  against 
Briton  and  Boer  with  varying  success,  in  their  last  conflict 
with  the  Orange  Free  State  losing  the  richest  of  their 
land,  which  now  forms  part  of  that  colony,  and  still  is  called 
the  "conquered  territory".  The  history  of  these  various 
wars  from  the  formation  of  the  Basuto  nation  are  told  in 
the  fullest  detail  in  Sir  Godfrey  Lagden's  comprehensive 
work  on  the  Basutos.  Their  last  great  conflict  with  their 
then  overlords,  the  Government  of  the  Cape  Colon}^, 
which  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  disarming  the 
people,  resulted  in  the  administration  of  the  country  fall- 
ing directly  upon  the  Imperial  Government.     The  policy 


250    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

adopted  is  well  described  by  Sir  Godfrey  Lagden.  Per- 
sonal, consistent,  continuous  rule  by  specially  chosen  and 
sympathetic  white  administrators  who  did  not  disturb  the 
ancient  order,  but  continued  to  recognize  the  old  tribal 
system,  and  who  governed  with  a  light  hand  through  the 
old  chiefs  and  headmen.  While  the  fullest  opportunity 
was  given  to  missionaries  and  the  warmest  co-operation 
existed  between  them  and  the  administration,  the  best 
in  the  old  system  was  preserved.  The  Imperial  authori- 
ties and  Parliament  trusted  the  man  on  the  spot,  and  left 
all  details  to  him.  In  no  part  of  South  Africa  has  the 
wisdom  of  this  policy  been  more  amply  demonstrated. 
The  people  have  been,  considering  their  turbulent  past, 
wonderfully  law-abiding,  appreciative  of  the  good  govern- 
ment under  which  they  lived  and  willing  to  make  sacrifices 
to  ensure  its  continuance.  Increasing  prosperity  has 
been  theirs.  One  of  the  most  significant  incidents  in 
their  latter-day  history  occurred  in  1898.  Up  till  that 
time,  though  the  Imperial  Government  ruled  the  land,  it 
was  incumbent  on  the  Administration  of  the  Cape  Colony 
to  make  good  any  deficit  by  an  annual  subsidy.  Each 
year  in  the  Cape  Parliament,  when  the  debate  on  the 
estimates  came  on,  many  vexatious  questions  arose 
resulting  in  a  claim  to  exercise  some  measure  of  control 
over  the  finances  of  Basutoland.  The  principal  revenue, 
then  as  now,  was  derived  from  direct  taxation,  every  hut 
in  the  country  paying  an  annual  tax  of  ten  shillings.  Sir 
A.  Milner  when  visiting  the  country  pointed  out  the 
anomalous  position,  and  suggested  that,  to  avoid  this 
possible  interference,  the  Basuto  people  should  so  tax 
themselves  as  to  pay  their  own  way.  To  this  the  para- 
mount chief  and  people  readily  acceded  ;  the  hut  tax  was 
doubled,  and  since  that  time  the  Basuto  have  been 
financially  independent. 

More  than  that,  the  whole  of  the  cost  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  country  has  been  borne  by  the  people,  and 
an  increasing  amount  yearly  devoted  to  the  betterment 
of  land  and  folk,  in   1907-8  no  less  than  ^46,000  being 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     251 

voted  for  public  works,  and  nearly  ;^  12,000  to  education. 
A  surplus  has  gradually  been  accumulated,  until  now  it 
amounts  to  over  ^^i  50,000.  The  wisdom  of  their  rulers, 
and  the  sagacity  of  the  people,  are  amply  shown  by  this 
record.  The  Basuto  people,  to  a  greater  degree  than 
most  Abantu,  had  always  representation  and  a  voice  in 
the  Councils  of  the  nation.  In  1903  this  took  a  constitu- 
tional shape  in  the  formation  of  a  National  Council  of 
one  hundred  members,  who  are  partly  selected  by  the 
chief  and  partly  nominated  by  the  Government.  Its 
duties  are  to  confer  with  the  Administration  on  internal 
affairs,  to  voice  grievances  and  opinions,  to  discuss  tribal 
disputes,  and  to  consider  the  appropriation  of  the  money 
paid  as  taxes.  They  have  also  framed  a  code  of  law 
applicable  to  the  wants  of  the  Basuto  people. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  outstanding  feature  in  the 
history  of  Basutoland  since  the  gun  war  is  the  progressive 
advance  of  the  people  under  native  law  and  the  old  tribal 
customs.  It  may  be  that  in  time,  with  the  changing  con- 
ditions in  South  Africa,  the  people  will  desire  and  be  ripe 
for  a  system  giving  greater  scope  to  individuality.  Mean- 
time peace,  progress,  and  solidarity  are  shown  to  be  not 
incompatible  with  the  old  order,  and  in  this  respect 
Basutoland  has  a  weighty  lesson  to  teach. 

We  have  somewhat  to  learn  from  a  consideration  of 
the  line  of  policy  adopted  in  the  Cape  Colony.  And 
here,  I  may  say  that  the  geographical  distribution  of  the 
people  there,  makes  the  application  of  any  scheme  dealing 
only  with  the  Abantu  much  easier  than  it  is  in  Natal  or 
even  the  Transvaal.  The  locations  in  Natal,  which  only 
contain  approximately  230,000  natives,  about  425,000 
being  tenants  or  squatters  on  private  farms,  are,  many  of 
them,  in  close  juxtaposition  to  the  centres  of  European 
population.  The  Inanda  and  Umlazi  locations  are  within 
a  few  miles  of  Durban,  while  the  Zwartkop  location  actu- 
ally abuts  on  the  town  lands  of  Pietermaritzburg.  In 
the  Cape  Colony,  the  vast  bulk  of  the  native  population 
inhabits  the  Transkeian  territories  in  which  are  only  a 


252    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

few  white  residents,  making  it  possible  to  introduce  ad- 
ministrative measures  impossible  where  the  races  are 
more  intermixed. 

The  main  features  of  the  Cape  policy  are,  the  dis- 
couragement of  the  tribal  system  with  its  communal 
system  of  land  tenure,  and  the  gradual  adoption  of  in- 
dividual holdings  ;  the  encouragement  to  missions  and 
especially  to  education,  the  adoption  of  a  plan  by  which 
they  undertake  the  management  of  their  local  affairs 
under  the  guidance  of  the  white  man  ;  and  lastly  the  frank 
gift  of  the  franchise  on  the  same  terms  as  it  is  given  to 
others.  All  this,  especially  the  last  item,  differentiates 
the  policy  pursued  in  the  Cape  Colony  from  what  has 
been  adopted  in  Natal,  and  still  more  from  that  of  the 
Transvaal,  and  the  results  of  this  advanced  policy  need 
some  examination. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  tribal  system  I  went  fully  into 
the  effect  of  the  ancient  rule  on  the  character  of  the  native, 
its  more  general  advantages  and  disadvantages.  We  saw 
that,  whatever  attitude  we  might  adopt  towards  it,  the 
advent  of  the  white  man,  the  influence  of  his  presence  in 
the  land,  the  effect  of  his  contact  and  activities  would 
inevitably,  in  time,  disintegrate  the  social  system  of  the 
black  man,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  until  it 
crumbles  to  dust.  And  yet  we  saw  that  for  to-day,  and 
possibly  for  many  days  to  come,  it  has  a  great  value  in 
the  government  of  the  Abantu.  The  controls  and  sanc- 
tions of  the  system,  the  ordered  life  made  possible  by  it, 
if  incontinently  removed,  would  leave  the  black  man  naked 
indeed.  It  is  the  duty  of  those  who  undertake  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  government  to  see  to  it  that  the  only 
social  system  the  more  backward  of  the  people  have  or 
can  understand,  should  be  held  together  until  they  are 
prepared,  and  we,  out  of  our  greater  foresight,  have  made 
ready  for  them  something  to  take  its  place. 

Hence  it  was,  that  the  Natal  Native  Commission 
uttered  a  paradox.  They  found  that  the  powers  of  the 
chiefs  had  been  weakened  and  attenuated  to  an  extent 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESEx\T  THEORIES     253 

that  made  it  increasingly  difficult  for  them  to  effectually 
control  people  who  were  not  advanced  beyond  the  needs 
of  tribal  life,  and  at  the  same  time  they  were  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  acts  of  their  people.  They  therefore 
recommended  some  increase  in  those  powers.  Some 
critics  regarded  this  recommendation  as  a  retrograde 
step,  a  return  to  barbarism.  The  commission  recognized 
though,  that  reduction  of  the  power  of  the  chief,  which 
means  the  sapping  of  the  strength  of  the  communal  life, 
must  only  be  concurrent  with,  and  in  amount  equal  to, 
the  fitness  of  the  people  for  such  measure  of  emancipation. 

Feeling  that  this  was  not  the  case  in  Natal,  they  were 
of  opinion  that,  for  a  time,  the  disintegrating  forces 
should  be  somewhat  checked  to  enable  adjustment  to 
take  place.  At  the  same  time  the}^  advocated  measures 
which  laid  the  axe  at  the  very  root  of  tribalism,  knowing 
that  the  operation  of  these  causes  would  be  gradual,  and 
trusting  that  as  they  came  into  fuller  operation,  Govern- 
ment would  have  made  provision  for  something  to  take 
its  place  suited  to  the  altered  needs  of  the  people. 

Apparently  in  the  Cape  Colony  this  has  been  realized, 
for  as  the  power  of  the  chiefs  declined,  and  their  place 
was  taken  by  Government  headmen,  and  many  of  their 
functions  formed  part  of  the  duties  of  magistrates,  the 
people  began  to  look  to  the  latter  for  the  help  and  advice 
hitherto  obtained  from  their  chiefs,  and  the  magistrates 
assumed  the  control  which  had  fallen  from  the  hands  of 
their  hereditary  rulers.  As  we  have  seen,  the  communal 
tenure  of  land  is  the  essence  of  tribalism,  and  whilst  the 
chiefs  were  being  gradually  reduced  in  numbers  and 
power,  and  superseded  by  the  European  magistrate, 
opportunity  was  given  to  the  more  enlightened  natives, 
free  now  from  tribal  authority,  to  acquire  land  in  their 
own  right. 

The  salient  features  of  the  scheme  under  which  the}' 
could  obtain  these  personal  rights  were  : — 

That  the  right  should  not  be  forced  on  the  native ;  he 
must  himself  recognize  the  advantage  and  ask  for  it. 


254     BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

A  holding  was  intended  to  be  sufficient  for  the  reason- 
able support  of  a  man  and  his  family,  and  the  rule  was, 
one  man  one  holding. 

The  tenure  was  not  freehold  but  a  lease  in  perpetuity, 
carrying  certain  obligations  on  the  holder,  the  infringe- 
ment of  some  of  which,  e.g.  rebellion,  made  forfeiture  of 
the  land  possible. 

Only  a  native  could  be  the  legal  holder. 

The  idea  was  that  as  the  native  came  out  of  tribal 
life  and  began  to  feel  his  individual  existence,  provision 
should  be  made  by  which  he  could  live  the  new  life  and 
have  his  opportunity  for  individual  development,  en- 
couraged by  the  stimulus  of  holding  land  in  his  own 
right  with  the  full  personal  advantage  to  himself  of  the 
results  of  his  labour  thereon. 

Experiments  were  made  as  early  as  1855  near  Love- 
dale,  and  continued,  with  very  varying  degrees  of  success, 
until  in  1894  the  Glengrey  Act  was  passed;  and  this  and 
the  Transkeian  proclamations  developed  from  it  consti- 
tute, according  to  the  last  authoritative  report,  the  best 
adaptation  of  the  European  system  of  rigidly  defined  in- 
dividual allotments  to  the  requirements  of  the  native 
people. 

The  report  mentioned  is  dated  April,  1910,  and  is  the 
result  of  the  investigations  of  a  small  Commission  which 
was  appointed  some  four  months  previously,  with  Colonel 
Stanford,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  as  chairman.  The  order  of 
reference  required  them  to  inquire  into  the  general 
working  of  the  introduction  of  individual  land  tenure. 
They  suggest  technical  improvements  into  which  we 
need  not  go,  but  the  verdict  on  the  general  effect  of  the 
system  was  one  of  unqualified  praise.  The  concluding 
paragraph,  in  which  the  commission  travel  beyond  the 
immediate  question  of  land  tenure,  expresses  an  opinion 
on  the  results  of  the  general  policy  of  the  Cape  Govern- 
ment on  the  character  of  the  native  people,  and  is  worth 
quoting. 

"  Finally,  the  Commission  have  to  record  that  from 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     255 

every  quarter  they  have  received  most  satisfactory 
reports  of  the  general  state  and  conduct  of  the  native 
people.  That  they  are  remarkably  law-abiding  is  illus- 
trated by  the  small  number  of  police  required  for  the 
administration  of  justice  in  the  Transkeian  territories, — • 
besides  their  own  headmen,  there  is  on  an  average  only 
one  policeman  to  every  four  thousand  of  the  population. 
There  has  been  little  crime  of  a  serious  nature,  and  the 
percentage  of  convictions'  for  drunkenness  is  extremely 
low.  To  their  credit  be  it  said,  that  they  invariably' 
respect  the  person's  of  European  women  and  children 
left  in  their  midst.  Generally,  the  native  people  are 
rising  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  they  are  advancing 
intellectually,  and  by  their  loyalty,  their  obedience  to  the 
law,  their  large  share  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  country, 
and  their  direct  and  indirect  contributions  to  the  public 
revenue,  they  are  responding  worthily  to  the  generous 
policy  of  this  colony  in  the  administration  of  native  affairs." 

The  encouragement  of  Missions  and  education  is 
certainly  a  more  prominent  feature  in  the  policy  of  the 
Cape  Colony  than  in  other  portions  of  South  East  Africa. 
Here,  as  in  Natal,  the  assistance  given  by  the  Government 
takes  the  form  of  grants  in  aid  to  the  Mission  bodies  who 
undertake  the  work  of  education.  The  amount  of  these 
contributions  per  head  of  the  native  population  is  probably 
six  or  seven  times  that  of  Natal  and  eight  or  nine  times 
that  of  the  Transvaal.  The  liberal  policy  of  the  Cape 
Colony  in  regard  to  education  as  compared  with  other 
Governments  is  thus  sufficiently  indicated. 

To  a  much  greater  extent  than  in  Natal,  natural  con- 
ditions have  contributed  to  the  segregation  of  the  natives, 
and  made  it  possible  to  undertake  an  experiment  in  self- 
government  to  which  reference  must  now  be  made,  as  it 
is  perhaps  the  outstanding  feature  of  the  native  policy  of 
the  Cape  Colony,  and,  with  political  representation,  forms 
the  diff'erentiation  in  fundamental  principles  between  the 
policy  there  adopted  and  the  rest  of  South  Africa. 

In  the  Transkeian  territories  there  is  established  by 


256    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Proclamation  a  system  of  District  Native  Councils.  The 
various  districts  into  which  the  territories  are  divided 
are  not  compelled  to  undertake  this  form  of  local  govern- 
ment ;  it  is  permissive,  and  only  if  they  desire  it  do  they 
come  under  the  provisions  of  the  proclamation.  At  the 
present  time  some  fifteen  districts  have  adopted  it  and 
with  it  affiliation  to  the  General  Council  of  the  Transkei. 
The  proclamation  with  regard  to  the  individual  title  to 
land  and  allotment  does  not  run  concurrently  with  the 
other  now  under  consideration,  for  whilst  fifteen  districts 
come  under  the  proclamation  making  district  councils 
possible,  only  four  have  adopted  the  allotment  scheme. 

The  District  Councils  are  subsidiary  to  the  General 
Council,  and  together  they  form  a  scheme  for  giving  the 
natives  a  real  interest  in  managing  their  own  affairs  and 
raising  and  being  responsible  for  the  monies  necessary 
to  do  the  work.  Their  functions  are  many,  covering 
nearly  all  the  corporate  work  of  any  civilized  community 
such  as — 

The  engaging  of  officers  to  carry  out  the  various  works 
undertaken  by  the  Council. 

Construction  and  maintenance  of  all  roads,  dams, 
bridges. 

Planting  and  cultivation  of  trees. 

Eradication  of  noxious  weeds  and  diseases  in  plants 
and  animals. 

Establishment  and  maintenance  of  schools. 

Establishing  agricultural  and  industrial  teaching  insti- 
tutions. 

The  control  of  all  tolls  and  pounds. 

The  construction  of  furrows,  water-courses,  etc.,  so  as 
to  ensure  a  proper  and  continuous  water-supply. 

The  treatment  of  infectious  diseases. 

The  prevention  of  nuisances. 

Each  District  Council  consists,  in  surveyed  districts, 
of  four  members  nominated  by  the  landowners,  in  un- 
surveyed,  of  four  nominated  by  the  headmen,  and  two  by 
the  Governor. 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     257 

The  General  Council  consists  of  three  representatives 
from  each  district,  two  of  whom  are  nominated  by  the 
District  Council  and  one  by  the  Governor.  The  resident 
magistrate  presides  over  the  District  Council,  the  chief 
magistrate  over  the  General  Council,  and  at  the  latter 
attend  all  the  magistrates  of  the  districts  which  have  come 
under  the  proclamation.  The  District  Councils  meet 
quarterly,  the  General  Council  once  a  year.  The  utmost 
freedom  of  discussion  prevails,  native  members  of  the 
Council  express  their  opinion  by  vote,  but  the  final  de- 
cision rests  with  the  chairman,  who,  in  the  case  of  the 
General  Council,  consults  with  the  magistrates  present. 
The  revenue  is  derived  from  a  tax  levied  upon  every 
native  man  or  woman  who  is  the  occupier  of  any  separate 
portion  of  land  or  hut  within  the  proclaimed  areas. 

With  a  view  to  adopt,  to  such  an  extent  as  might 
prove  wise,  this  principle  of  self-government  in  local 
matters,  the  Government  of  Natal  in  1908  sent  a  small 
Commission  consisting  of  the  Rev.  F.  B.  Bridgman  of  the 
American  Zulu  Mission  and  two  educated  natives,  Messrs. 
Posselt  Gumede  and  Martin  N.  Lutuli,  to  visit  the 
Transkei  and  report  thereon.  They  visited  the  whole  of 
the  territories,  investigated  the  system  of  land  tenure, 
and  were  present  during  the  whole  of  the  annual  sitting 
of  the  General  Council.  Their  Report,  considering  the 
importance  of  the  subject,  is  all  too  brief,  but  it  is  clear 
they  were  much  impressed  with  what  they  saw.  They 
found  that  the  survey  and  appropriation  of  land  to 
individuals  was  appreciated  by  the  natives,  as  shown  in 
the  progressive  desire  to  adopt  the  system,  and  were  of 
opinion  it  tended  to  better  methods  in  agriculture  and  life. 
But,  the  great  revelation  to  them,  was  the  extent  to  which 
raw  or  heathen  natives  availed  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  improve,  and  especially  the  keen  interest  they 
took  in  the  management  of  their  own  local  affairs.  They 
say,  speaking  of  the  General  Council,  "viewed  as  a  body 
there  was  nothing  remarkable  about  the  education  or 
ability  of  the  councillors.     There  were  a  few  educated 

17 


258    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

and  able  men,  but  as  far  as  could  be  ascertained  fully 
half  the  representatives  could  not  read  or  write.  Judging 
from  the  confusion,  some  seemed  to  be  having  their  first 
experience  in  the  procedure  of  voting.  As  may  be 
inferred  from  the  last  paragraph,  the  majority  of  the 
councillors  being  'red  Kafir'  representatives,  so  of 
course  the  vast  majority  of  the  ratepayers  belong  to  the 
raw  type.  In  most  of  the  Council  districts  there  is  but 
a  sprinkling  of  adult  natives  who  can  be  classed  as 
civilized.  It  was  most  difficult  to  realize  that  it  was  the 
raw  native  who  was  supplying  the  bulk  of  the  ^^^50,000 
with  which  the  Council  finances  its  operations,  and  that 
therefore  it  was  the  'blanket  Kafir'  who  held  the 
larger  share  in  the  proprietorship  of  the  Bhunga,  roads, 
wattle  plantations,  dipping  tanks,  agricultural  institution 
with  its  prize  stock,  etc.  These  considerations  are  all  the 
more  surprising  when  we  recall  the  fact  that  the  procla- 
mation providing  for  the  Council  system  is,  with  the  land 
tenure,  only  permissive,  and  that  the  Council  system  with 
the  IDS.  rate  only  becomes  operative  in  a  given  district, 
when  the  natives  of  that  district  express  a  desire  to  extend 
the  operation  of  the  proclamation  to  that  area.  The 
deputation  was  forced  to  seek  an  explanation  of  this 
strange  phenomenon  of  self-imposed  taxation  by  a 
people  for  the  most  part  still  in  barbarism.  But  the 
only  answer  was  the  patent  fact  that  the  Government  was 
determined  to  do  all  in  its  power  for  the  material,  intel- 
lectual, and  moral  betterment  of  the  natives  in  the 
Transkeian  territories,  and  the  natives,  being  persuaded 
that  this  was  the  purpose  of  the  Government,  have  given 
their  co-operation.  From  observation  and  inquiry  we 
were  convinced  that  the  extent  and  success,  both  of  the 
land  tenure  and  Council  systems,  were  directly  due  to 
the  persuasive  measures  and  tactful  pressure  exercised 
by  officials,  from  the  chief  magistrate  down.  While  the 
provisions  of  the  proclamation  have  been  proved  excellent, 
they  would  have  been  a  dead  letter  but  for  the  philan- 
thropic spirit  which  has  animated  their  administration." 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     259 

Pregnant  are  these  last  words.  I  have  before  pointed 
out  how  much  depends  on  the  personnel  of  those  ad- 
ministering native  affairs  ;  and  of  fundamental  importance 
is  the  spirit  in  which  the  work  is  undertaken.  If  those 
at  the  head  of  affairs  are  lukewarm  and  aim  only  at  peace 
being  kept  in  their  time,  this  spirit,  which  has  been  that 
of  some  of  the  administrations  of  South  East  Africa, 
will  permeate  the  service  down  to  the  junior  clerks.  If, 
however,  the  work  is  rightly  regarded  as  being  the  most 
important  to  which  men  can  give  their  lives  in  South 
Africa,  if  a  high  standard  is  demanded,  if  scientific  in- 
quiry and  methods  go  hand  in  hand  with  an  earnest 
desire  to  do  the  best  for  the  people,  the  natives  will,  with 
their  quick  intuition,  feel  the  difference  and  respond  to  an 
extent  many  have  never  deemed  possible. 

Many,  outside  of  the  Cape  Colony,  have  said  that  what 
is  possible  in  the  Transkei  is  far  in  advance  of  what  can 
be  done  elsewhere,  urging  the  difference  in  character  and 
stage  of  advancement  of  the  natives,  say  in  Natal,  as  com- 
pared with  the  Cape  territories.  To  such,  the  emphasis 
laid  by  the  deputation  on  the  fact  that  the  raw  native  is 
the  principal  tax-payer  and  beneficiary  under  the  system 
will,  I  know,  come  as  a  surprise.  And  I  would  point  out 
that  the  most  advanced  of  these  people  were,  not  long 
ago,  natives  of  Natal,  and  are  thus  spoken  of  in  the  report. 
"  Here  (in  the  General  Council)  were  representatives 
coming  all  the  way  from  the  Kei  to  the  Umzimkulu,  but 
these  men  were,  many  of  them,  far  separated  in  degrees 
of  intelligence  and  enterprise.  For  example,  the  com- 
paratively well-educated  thrifty  Fingoes,  form  a  constant 
stimulus  to  the  more  ignorant  and  backward  Xosas, 
Tembus  and  Bacas."  And  yet  these  same  Fingoes  are 
the  Natal  natives  who  fled  into  the  Cape  Colony  before 
the  Zulu  hordes — the  difference  is  not  in  character,  but 
has  been  due  to  environment.  The  report  of  the  deputa- 
tion concluded  with  an  enthusiastic  and  unanimous  en- 
dorsement of  both  the  land  tenure  and  Council  systems  ; 
the  delegates  were  evidently  of  opinion  that  both  fitted 

17  * 


26o    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

into  the  character  and  requirements  of  the  natives  of  to- 
day, and  that  both  would  equally  suit  their  near  relations 
in  the  country  from  which  the  deputation  came. 

Let  us  remember  that  the  natives  of  Natal,  who  may 
be  regarded  as  representative  of  general  native  opinion 
outside  the  Cape  Colony,  made  it  clear  that  their  desire 
was  to  be  free  from  constant  interference,  and  to  be  let 
alone  to  manage  their  own  affairs.  Also  that  the  edu- 
cated natives  of  the  same  province  have  shown  signs 
which  may  be  interpreted  as  signifying  the  same  desire, 
and  that,  deprived  of,  divorced  from,  much  that  in  past 
time  made  life  full  and  interesting,  the  native  must,  if  his 
life  is  to  be  healthy  and  progressive,  have  an  interest  in 
his  existence.  That,  dissociated  from  his  old  activities, 
the  only  salutary  and  satisfactory  alternative  we  can  con- 
ceive to  replace  these,  is  work,  and  that  the  work  to  be  of 
the  greatest  service  to  the  worker  must  not  be  unwilling 
service,  but  such  as  can  be  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of 
hopefulness  ;  then,  the  lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  en- 
lightened policy  of  the  Cape  Government  as  carried  out 
in  the  Transkei  is  pregnant  indeed,  and  must  be  a  vital 
force  in  any  policy  of  United  South  Africa  in  the  future. 

Now  we  come  to  the  crux  of  the  question,  which, 
more  than  any  other  phase  of  the  native  problem,  divides 
South  Africa.  It  was  perhaps  natural  that  the  liberal- 
minded  statesmen  of  the  Cape  Colony,  to  whom  both 
black  and  white  South  Africa  owe  so  much  for  the 
thought  they  have  given  to  both  legislative  and  admin- 
istrative sides  of  native  government,  should  regard  as 
the  coping  stone  to  the  structure  they  were  consciously 
raising,  the  gift  to  the  native  of  the  power  to  elect  his 
own  representatives  to  Parliament.  Nor  is  it  singular 
that,  impressed  with  the  success  which  has  so  far  attended 
the  liberal  and  educative  policy  adopted,  as  well  as  by 
the  conspicuous  self-restraint  shown  by  the  native  elector, 
and  in  the  absence  of  the  maleficent  results  which 
might  have  been  anticipated,  many,  possibly  a  majority, 
of  the   European   electors  of   Cape   Colony  favour   the 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     261 

ultimate  issue  of  that  policy.  Such  a  view  is  not,  how- 
ever, shared  by  any  of  the  Europeans  of  the  other 
portions  of  South  East  Africa,  who  come  into  far  more 
intimate  relations  with  the  Abantu  than  the  average 
elector  of  the  Cape  Colony.  Hardly  a  single  man  can 
be  found  in  Natal,  the  Orange  Free  State,  or  the  Trans- 
vaal who  would  consent  to  an  extension  of  the  franchise, 
as  it  now  obtains  in  the  Cape  Colony,  to  those  provinces. 

Had  the  Cape  delegates  to  the  National  Convention 
insisted  on  this,  and  a  vote  been  taken  on  the  first  day  of 
meeting,  that  day  would  have  seen  Union  doomed. 
Realizing  this,  the  National  Convention  decided  to  leave 
the  matter  as  it  stood,  each  province  retaining,  for  the 
present,  the  existing  laws  relating  to  the  franchise,  but 
specially  safeguarding  the  rights  of  all  voters  at  present 
on  the  rolls  of  the  Cape  Colony. 

There  is  no  colour  line  drawn  there  ;  the  qualifications 
necessary  for  a  vote  are  the  same  for  white  or  coloured 
or  black,  and  are  : — 

Age — Twenty-one  years. 

Sex— Male. 

Education — Ability  to  write  name,  address,  and  oc- 
cupation. 

Property — Occupation  of  building  or  land  or  both  for 
twelve  months  to  value  of  £'j^^  or  receipt  for  twelve 
months  of  wages  of  not  less  than  ^^50. 

Land  held  on  communal  tenure  or  under  Glengrey 
title  may  not  be  computed. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  about  14,000  coloured, 
as  distinct  from  white  voters,  and  8,000  who  may  be 
considered  as  black  (Abantu). 

This  paucity  of  natives  on  the  roll  is  a  remarkable  and 
noteworthy  fact.  Potentially,  if  a  little  direct  effort 
and  organization  were  brought  into  play,  under  the 
present  laws,  they  hold  the  destinies  of  the  Cape  Colony 
in  the  hollow  of  their  hand,  and  yet,  after  over  fifty  years 
of  such  possibility,  the  voters  only  number  8,000  out  of  a 
total  population  of  nearly  a  million  and  a  half 


262    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

A  singular  parallel  may  be  noted  in  passing  in  Jamaica. 
In  that  island  there  is  also  no  colour  distinction,  the 
qualifications  are  extremely  easy — the  payment  of  poor 
rates  and  taxes  of  at  least  ten  shillings  per  annum,  or  in 
the  case  of  parish  taxpayers  of  thirty  shillings  a  year,  or 
alternatively  the  receipt  of  an  annual  salary  of  ^^"50.  Yet 
in  1906  out  of  a  negro  and  mulatto  population  of  820,437 
there  were  only  8,607  registered  voters.  I  have  never 
heard  any  adequate  and  convincing  explanation  given  to 
account  for  this  fact  in  the  Cape  Colony,  nor  does  the 
authority  I  quote  for  Jamaica,  Sir  Harry  H.  Johnstone,  in 
"  The  Negro  in  the  New  World  "  give  any  reason  for  the 
apparent  apathy  of  the  coloured  man  in  Jamaica. 

Possibly  owing  to  lack  of  opportunity,  1  have  never 
heard  any  advocate  for  the  present  system  in  the  Cape 
Colony  urge  that  it  would  be  a  desirable  thing  for  all  the 
potential  political  opportunities  given  to  natives  by  this 
franchise  law  to  be  put  into  actual  operation.  Rather,  it 
is  generally  admitted  even  there,  that  for  the  highest 
interests  of  black  and  white  alike,  the  European  must 
rule,  his  pre-eminence  must  be  undoubted,  the  ideals  of 
the  white  race  must  be  those  of  the  governing  powers. 
Rather,  and  this  to  me  indicates  a  consciousness  of  the 
inherent  weakness  of  their  position,  it  is  argued  that  there 
is  no  danger  to  the  dominance  of  the  white  man  and  his 
ideals,  that  in  the  past  his  voting  power  has  increased 
at  a  much  greater  progressive  ratio  than  that  of  the 
Abantu,  and  that  it  is  a  chimera  to  think  that  the  latter 
and  his  ideals  will  ever  preponderate  in  the  country. 
This  is  poor  logic;  if  the  principle  is  right,  then  all  the 
Abantu  people  who  are  qualified  should  be,  not  possible, 
but  actual  voters,  and  it  would  be,  not  only  not  blame- 
worthy, but  right  and  just,  that  organized  effort  should  be 
directed  to  get  all  such  on  the  register  and  to  preach  the 
doctrine  of  every  black  man  consciously  and  unceasingly 
directing  his  efforts  to  obtain  the  same  great  privilege. 

It  is  not  the  position  as  it  stands  to-day  that  makes 
the   white  man  of  Natal,   Orange  Free  State,   and  the 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     263 

Transvaal  absolutely  refuse  to  entertain  'for  a  moment 
any  extension  of  the  native  franchise.  It  is  more  the 
dread  and  appalling  prospect  of  the  gradual  pressure  of 
an  overwhelming  mass  of  black  voters,  perhaps  insidi- 
ously, perhaps  autocratically,  swamping  him  and  all  the 
life  he  has  inherited  and  values,  that  makes  him  set  his 
teeth  and  harden  his  heart.  And  the  acorn  of  to-day 
has  in  it  the  strength  of  the  oak.  Waves  of  feeling, 
impossible  to  predict,  come  over  the  Abantu ;  we  have 
seen  them  in  the  past,  and  the  future  holds  them  in 
store;  a  racial  awakening  to  their  political  possibilities 
may  come,  and  race  conflict  as  we  have  never  known  it 
in  the  past  may  be  the  fateful  issue. 

The  South  African  Native  Commission  of  1903-5 
was  fully  impressed  with  this  view  and  thus  unanimousl}^ 
reported  : — 

Clause  433.  "The  native  population  of  the  Cape 
Colony  is  about  one  and  a  half  millions,  out  of  which 
250,000  are  adult  male  natives  and  potential  voters. 
The  present  number  of  native  voters  is  therefore  the 
merest  fringe  of  the  impending  mass,  and  in  view  of  this 
fact  the  full  magnitude  and  gravity  of  the  question  may 
be  apprehended.  A  few  of  the  witnesses  claimed  that 
full  and  equal  political  rights  should  be  granted  to  all 
classes  of  men  fulfilling  the  necessary  franchise  qualifica- 
tions, and  the}^  urged  that  anxiety  on  the  score  of  dis- 
proportion might  be  relegated  to  the  distant  future." 

Clause  434.  "  These  views  are  not  shared  by  the  Com- 
mission, which  recognizes  that  a  situation  has  arisen 
requiring  fair  but  resolute  treatment,  a  situation  not 
only  immediately  unsatisfactory  but  pregnant  with  future 
danger." 

From  a  practical  experience  of  nearly  thirteen  years 
in  the  Natal  Legislature — from  1897  to  19 10  with  one 
short  break — I  know  how  little  the  just  claims  and  the 
interests  of  the  unrepresented  receive  attention  at  the 
hands  of  Parliament.  The  quotations  already  made 
from  the  pages  of  the  report  of  the  Natal  Native  Aflairs 


264    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Commission  clearly  indicate  that  they  also  were  fully 
aware  of  this  fact.  Too  often,  the  pressure  of  a  score  of 
influential  constituents  and  voters  will  weigh  down,  with 
a  representative,  the  known  wants  of  thousands  of  the 
inarticulate  and  unrepresented.  The  statute  book  is 
eloquent  of  the  detailed  attention  paid  to  the  wants 
and  wishes  of  those  having  power,  the  indifference  with 
which  the  grievances  of  the  powerless  mass  were  treated. 
Each  Parliament  may  contain  a  few  men  who  feel  a  due 
responsibility,. who  are  conscience-struck  at  the  neglect  of 
what  appears  to  them  an  obvious  duty,  and  who  again, 
resenting  the  introduction  of  frequent  repressive  legisla- 
tion, attempt  the  impossible  to  find  themselves  in  a 
hopeless  minority  and  often  with  public  opinion  running 
strongly  against  them. 

At  times,  the  only  remedy  seems  to  be  in  full  en- 
franchisement of  the  neglected,  but  the  dangers  in  the 
future  attending  such  a  course  again  make  one  pause. 
Equal  political  opportunity  means  equal  conflict,  the 
weaker  must  and  will  be  worsted  in  the  fight.  The 
position  in  the  Southern  United  States  is  often  quoted 
as  a  warning,  and  indeed  is,  I  think,  apposite.  For  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  years  the  negro  has  nominally  had 
full  franchise  rights,  and  yet  to-day  has  no  effective  say 
in  the  Government  of  the  country.  Bad  enough,  but  the 
effect  of  force  and  fraud  where  only  reason  should  pre- 
vail is  infinitely  more  disastrous  to  those  who  defraud 
than  to  the  sufferers.  I  tried  to  point  out  in  dealing  with 
the  claim  to  "equality  of  opportunity"  put  forward  by 
some  of  the  educated  natives,  that  they  did  not  appear 
to  realize  how  much  the  Abantu  owed  to  the  altruism 
of  the  white  man  in  the  past  years.  Guided  solely  by  cold 
reason  and  self-interest,  he  might  have  exploited  and  re- 
pressed the  black  man  to  an  extent  never  experienced  in 
South  Africa.  Restrained  by  his  sense  of  right  and 
justice,  the  position  has  not  been  without  its  brighter 
side.  If  equal  political  rights  were  given,  many  Europeans 
pressed  by  a  sense  of  race  preservation,  who  now  would 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     265 

follow  a  lead  tending  to  a  further  amelioration  of  the  lot 
of  the  native,  would  be  hardened  and  the  fount  of 
sympath}^  would  dry  up ;  coldness,  hostility,  if  not  fierce 
hatred  would  take  its  place.  As  much  for  the  future  of 
my  own  race  as  for  the  Abantu  do  I  dread  the  intimate 
contact,  and  all  that  will  follow,  implied  by  equality  of 
opportunity.  But  if  freed  from  the  dread  of  a  struggle 
for  existence,  the  presence  of  a  backward  people  may, 
if  conscience  be  aroused,  be  a  factor  of  the  highest  value 
in  the  character  development  of  those  who,  with  tender 
conscience  which  they  would  keep  void  of  offence, 
realize  the  duty  imposed  upon  them. 

The  South  African  Commission  seemed  to  take 
this  view,  for  in  clause  444  sub-clause  2  of  the  report 
the}'  say  that  if  a  modified  franchise  were  given,  accept- 
able to  the  white  race,  it  would  have  the  beneficial  effect 
of  "  freeing  of  all  questions  affecting  the  betterment  of 
the  natives  from  any  considerations  of  consequent  in- 
crease in  their  political  power,  and  from  the  resulting 
hostility  to  measures  conducive  to  their  progress  and  im- 
provement on  the  part  of  many  Europeans  otherwise 
friendly  to  the  native  cause  ". 

Those  who  think  that  to  take  up  the  problem  of  native 
Government,  and  try  conscientiously  to  bring  nearer  some 
solution  of  the  question  as  I  have  put  it,  to  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  strenuous  endeavouring  so  to  adjust  condi- 
tions that  each  race  may  have  the  best  possible  to  it,  is  a 
light  task  for  the  race,  had  better  begin  to  think  it  out  in 
detail  with  conscience  for  a  taskmaster.  They  will  then 
begin  to  understand  what  of  self-sacrifice  and  restraint, 
as  well  as  of  foresight  and  strenuous  toil,  will  be  demanded 
if  we  rightly  shoulder  this  white  man's  burden.  That  man 
who  heeds  not  the  standards  of  the  multitude,  but  himself 
sets  the  task,  has  a  far  sterner  duty,  must  live  the 
strenuous  and  austere  life.  And  so  with  the  race — far 
easier  would  it  be  to  give  the  black  man  his  chance  in 
open  competition  ;  worsted  he  would  certainly  be,  but  with 
our  victory  would  come  a  heavier  loss  to  us. 


266    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

I  know  that  to  many  in  England  and  elsewhere,  especi- 
ally those  who  have  never  lived  among  a  backward  people, 
this  denial  of  equal  political  privileges  will  seem  a  painful 
step  backward.  Many  well-wishers  to  native  peoples  lay 
stress  on  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  emphasize  the  re- 
semblances between  all  races  of  mankind  and  minimize 
the  differences,  and  they  would  favour  any  policy  which 
brought  the  races  together,  believing  that  this  would 
give  an  opportunity  for  better  understanding,  that  thus 
barriers  will  be  broken  down,  and  possibly  ultimately 
mankind  will  become  one  great  family.  I  too  believe  in 
the  brotherhood  of  man,  I  think  the  tendency  in  the 
past  has  been  to  accentuate  differences  and  to  overlook 
the  essential  humanity,  and  I  welcome  all  that  would 
make  for  better  comprehension  each  of  each.  But  this 
ideal  does  not  blind  me  to  the  fact  of  to-day.  I  think  our 
friends,  who  lay  heavy  stress  on  the  essential  oneness  of 
humanity,  are  inclined  to  generalize  too  widely  and  attempt 
to  go  too  fast.  Man  is  not  a  creature  of  yesterday,  he 
goes  back  into  the  geologic  ages  ;  the  primary  races  are 
the  result  of  differentiation  for  possibly  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  years.  We  must  have  patience  and  again 
patience.  What  the  centuries  have  in  store  for  us  we 
cannot  tell,  but  I  cannot  support  those  who  would  to-day 
break  down  the  barriers  which  have  been  set  up,  not  by 
us  but  by  Nature. 

But  1  must  get  back  to  more  material  issues.  P'irst 
I  ask,  is  it  possible  to  conceive  that  any  reasonable  pro- 
portion of  the  Abantu,  yesterda}^  but  savages,  with  no 
knowledge  of  our  civilization  and  what  it  stands  for,  be- 
yond what  they  could  see  at  Mission  station  or  store, 
could  possibly  gauge  and  value  the  issues  calling  for 
judgment  ?  The  advocates  of  native  representation  com- 
pare the  illiterate  dissolute  European  with  the  educated, 
self-restrained,  well-behaved  Christian  native,  and  ask 
whether  the  latter  is  not  far  better  fitted  to  exercise  the 
privilege  intelligently  and  independently  than  the  former. 
For  these  individuals  we  answer  "  yes  "  emphatically  ;  we 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     267 

are  not,  however,  dealing  with  individuals  but  races,  and 
it  is  not  the  fact  that  any  fair  proportion  of  black  men 
who  can  sign  their  names  and  earn  £$0  a  year  are  in  the 
least  fitted  by  character  or  individual  or  race  experience, 
to  rightly  exercise  so  weighty  a  privilege.  The  debauched 
white  man  will  not,  according  to  the  Weismann  doctrine 
of  inheritance,  transmit  to  his  son  his  acquired,  degenerate 
traits  and  longings  for  the  low  and  unclean  ;  the  deeper 
race  characteristics  and  virtues  transmitted  through 
countless  generations,  these  only  will  he  bequeath,  and  it 
is  possible  the  offspring  of  a  dissolute  and  worthless  one 
may  count  among  the  flower  of  his  race.  So  the  educated 
native,  restrained  by  his  acquired  knowledge  and  training, 
cannot  pass  these  on  to  his  son,  who  will  inherit  the 
deeper  race  characteristics  of  the  Abantu.  But  it  will 
be  said — he  again  must  personally  qualify  and  prove  his 
fitness.  Yes — to  the  extent  of  writing  his  name  and  earn- 
ing £50  iri  a  year.  A  flims}^  guarantee  that  he  is  fit  for 
the  heavy  and  unrealized  responsibility  some  would 
thrust  upon  him. 

This  book  will  indeed  have  conveyed  a  false  impres- 
sion if  it  has  not  made  clear  my  high  opinion  of  many  of 
the  race  characteristics  of  the  Abantu,  and  my  desire  for 
their  highest  welfare ;  and  that  reason,  equally  with  my 
natural  affection  for  my  own  race,  makes  me  take  my 
stand  with  those  who  cannot  see  any  real  or  lasting 
lightening  of  the  load  in  equal  representation. 

Alternatives  to  full  representation  have  been  sug- 
gested by  many,  and  some  of  these  deserve  our  careful 
consideration.  Before  discussing  these,  I  must  indicate 
what  I  think  is  the  true  road  for  the  native  to  take  in  his 
upward  progress  at  the  present  time.  Emotional  and 
imitative,  ever  ready  to  talk  and  argue  rather  than  to 
think  and  work,  politics  with  its  incessant  talk  and  intrigue 
will  appeal  to  him  strongly  once  he  has  overcome  his 
diffidence  and  mastered  the  rules  of  the  game.  Given 
the  opportunity,  he  would  be  drowned  in  floods  of  talk, 
and  think    he  was    achieving,  when  hard    thinking  and 


268    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

arduous  work  were  required.  This  elementary  truth 
has  been  realized  by  Booker  Washington,  who  has  sternly 
set  his  face  against  talk,  and  founded  his  noble  institution 
on  practical  work,  discipline,  and  the  building  up  of  char- 
acter. And  so  here,  the  native  wants  interest  and  hope 
in  life,  he  must  be  guarded  against  his  own  weaknesses, 
his  interest  must  take  the  form  of  progress  along  the 
line  of  practical  progressive  work  which  needs  not  talk 
for  its  realization  but  labour  which  will  develop  character. 
Not  that  I  would  stifle  any  of  his  powers — an  outlet  must, 
in  any  wise  scheme,  be  made  for  the  exercise  on  right  lines 
and  at  right  times,  of  his  love  for  discussion  and  debate. 

Feeling  thus,  I  am  against  any  form  of  direct  repre- 
sentation, beyond  what  would  give  those  responsible  for 
native  government  and  administration  full  opportunity  to 
learn  his  wants  and  grievances,  which  necessarily  entails 
free  opportunity  for  him  to  disclose  them. 

Now  to  an  examination  of  these  suggestions. 

The  recommendations  of  the  South  African  Com- 
mission and  the  Natal  Native  Commission  are  identical 
in  spirit,  and  are  based  upon  the  system  in  vogue  in  New 
Zealand,  where  the  Maories  vote  apart  from  the  Europeans 
and  elect  a  definitely  limited  number  of  members  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate ;  full-blooded 
Maories  though,  or  half-castes  are  often  chosen.  The 
greatest  weight  must  be  attached  to  the  opinion  of  these 
Commissions,  and  it  is  with  great  diffidence  that  I  dis- 
sent ;  especially  do  I  need  to  call  upon  my  courage,  for  I 
myself  was  one  of  the  signatories  to  the  Report  of  the 
Natal  Commission. 

This  Commission  recommended  that  the  number  so 
elected,  should  be  from  one  to  three  for  the  whole  colony, 
the  latter  number  to  be  the  eventual  maximum  (the  number 
of  white  representatives  was  forty-three).  Though  the 
South  African  Commission  did  not  specify  any  number, 
the  wording  of  their  recommendation  indicates  that  one 
member  in  each  colony  (now  province)  was  the  number 
they  favoured. 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     269 

Representation  is,  to  the  white  man,  the  machinery  by 
which  all  social  and  political  diseases  are  cured.  The 
effective  use  of  the  remedy  is  in  the  hands  of  the  re- 
cipients, who  must  suffer  if  they  do  not  take  full  advantage 
of  the  implement  put  into  their  power.  And  so,  I  am 
afraid  that  some  infinitesimal  portion  of  power  having 
been  given  to  the  Abantu,  the  average  white  man  would 
congratulate  himself  on  his  wonderful  political  sagacity 
in  finding  this  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  and  his  magnani- 
mity in  giving  the  black  man  the  great  panacea,  direct 
representation,  and  go  his  way  rejoicing  and  forgetting 

My  chief  objections  to  this  suggested  remedy  are  that 
the  white  man  would  probably  regard  the  gift  as  ending 
his  responsibilities,  and  again  that  such  an  amount  of 
special  representation,  without  other  machinery,  would 
be  quite  inadequate  to  secure,  what  is  imperative,  a  full 
and  proper  attention  to  native  interests. 

Both  these  objections  would  practically  operate  in 
Parliament.  The  ordinary  member  of  Parliament,  when- 
ever a  demand  was  set  up  for  native  representation, 
claimed  that,  although  not  elected  by  them,  he  regarded 
himself  also  as  their  representative  and  as  having  a  duty 
to  them.  In  practice,  as  we  have  seen,  this  duty  was 
lightly  regarded,  and  the  interests  of  the  native  went  to 
the  wall,  if  European  interests  or  wishes  were  insistent. 
Still  the  recognized,  though  often  lightly  regarded,  duty 
of  the  member  to  the  unenfranchised  native  could  always 
be  advanced  as  a  plea,  and  if  not  in  conflict  with  the  ideas 
or  expressed  desires  of  those  who  sent  him  there,  some- 
times met  with  a  response,  occasionally  a  generous  one. 
With  a  member  or  members  in  the  House  elected  by  the 
natives,  whose  specific  duty  was  to  look  after  their  in- 
terests, the  average  member  would  consider  his  charge 
to  them  at  an  end,  and  leaving  the  native  representative 
to  look  after  his  special  work,  would  confine  himself  to 
what  he  would  then  consider  his  proper  and  only  business. 
And  what  could  the  native  member  achieve  ?  A  voice 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  he  might  warn  the  rest  of  the 


270    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

members  when  attempts  were  made  to  pass  legislation 
adverse  to  the  interests  and  desires  of  his  constituents, 
and  he  might  or  might  not  be  listened  to.  But  it  would 
be  practically  impossible  for  him  to  initiate  legislation  or 
make  a  forward  movement,  he  might  attempt  to  secure 
the  sympathy  and  interest  of  the  Government,  but  votes 
are  essential  to  the  existence  of  a  Government  and  he 
has  but  one.  In  a  last  analysis  he' would  be  entirely 
dependent  on  the  goodwill  of  the  Government  and  the 
ordinary  members,  and  there  may  be  drawn  the  fair 
inference  that,  regarding  the  responsibility  shifted  from 
them,  it  would  be  more  difficult  even  than  at  present  to 
secure  that  goodwill. 

Those  who  ask  for  the  franchise  are  not  the  great 
bulk  of  the  native  population  of  South  East  Africa.  Ad- 
ministration of  the  kind  I  have  indicated  elsewhere — 
paternal,  personal,  consistent,  continuous,  in  the  hands  of 
men  in  whom  they  have  confidence,  always  approachable, 
men  infused  with  the  right  spirit,  is  primarily  what  is 
required  for  and  desired  by  the  masses.  Once  we  re- 
gained his  confidence  and  trust  this  would  satisfy  the 
tribal  native  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

When  we  remember  how  excessively  fond  the  native 
is  of  talking,  and  the  interest  he  takes  in  the  affairs  of 
himself  and  neighbours,  and  yet  finding  that  such  a  small 
portion  of  the  eligible  natives  of  the  Cape  Colony  have 
availed  themselves  of  the  privilege  of  the  franchise,  it 
seems  paradoxical.  I  suppose  the  reason  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that,  like  other  people,  they  only  talk  about 
what  really  interests  them  and  that  is  what  they  under- 
stand, and  ever  ready  as  they  are  to  discuss  in  the 
greatest  detail  their  home  life,  the  cattle,  the  neighbours, 
and  the  tribe,  they  cannot  understand  and  are  conse- 
quently uninterested  in  the  tangled  politics  of  the  white 
man.  What  I  think  we  have  to  aim  at  is  to  give  them 
this  interest  in  what  really  matters  to  them,  and  not 
prematurely  involve  them  in  aff'airs  they  do  not  under- 
stand and  which  would  only  bewilder  land  bemuse  them. 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     271 

The  few  certainly  want  it,  they  feel  the  equal  at  least  of 
many  of  the  white  men  they  see,  and  they  want  all  the 
white  man's  privileges.  I  have  already  tried  to  show 
the  disabilities  a  realization  of  their  desires  would  prob- 
ably throw  on  the  whole  people.  Should  we  for  the 
sake  of  the  ambitions  of  the  few,  risk  a  strife  in  which  the 
millions  would  be  involved,  or  if  actual  hostility  was  not 
engendered,  a  coolness  and  estrangement  which  would 
mean  the  withholding  of  all  that  would  elevate,  an  alien- 
ation of  sympathy  and  assistance  ? 

Our  sympathy  can  but  go  out  to  many  of  those  who, 
after  stress  and  strain,  have  reached  a  comparatively  high 
level  of  character  and  attainment  only  to  find  the  way 
they  had  mapped  out  barred  to  them.  But  is  not  the 
true  opening  for  further  effort  and  development  to  be 
found,  not  along  the  political  line  with  its  many  risks, 
but  in  helping  the  rest  of  their  people  along  the  path  they 
have  already  trod?  Here  is  a  vast  field  for  activity  giv- 
ing the  fullest  scope  for  the  exercise  of  the  ability,  even 
the  ambitions,  of  all  the  advanced  people  of  the  native 
race.  We  must  find  opening  and  scope  for  the  aroused 
energies  of  these  people,  we  cannot  bar  their  further  pro- 
gress and  leave  them  smothered  in  discontent,  and  unless 
our  native  policy  does  this  in  some  reasonable  measure  it 
will  be  by  so  much,  and  this  very  much,  a  failure. 

Here,  as  elsewhere  in  this  inquiry,  one  of  the  most 
valuable,  nay  essential,  qualities  the  investigator  must 
possess,  one  which  he  must  have  in  great  measure  if  his 
work  is  to  stand,  is  that  of  detachment  from  his  own 
personal  race, view.  One  cannot  obtain  it  altogether,  but 
the  effort  must  be  made  to  put  oneself  in  the  place  of  the 
other  man.  If  we  try  to  do  so,  in  this  matter  of  repre- 
sentation, will  it  not  appear  that  we  are  reading  into  the 
mind,  even  of  the  educated  black  man,  what  is  in  our 
own?  The  idea  of  representation  as  we  understand  it 
has  been  taken  from  us  by  him  ;  the  further  idea  that  it 
must  necessarily  be  the  goal  of  his  ambition  is  likewise 
derived  from  us — it  is  what  would  be  natural  were  we  in 


272    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

his  case.  But  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  natural  to  him.  If 
the  dangers  of  continuing  in  this  course  were  pointed  out — 
the  danger  to  him  and  to  us  ;  and  if  another,  giving  scope 
for  his  ability,  acquirements,  ambition  was  shown,  is  it 
not  possible  that,  neither  being  the  outcome  of  his 
inherent  nature,  it  might  equally  appeal  to  him  ? 

Another  word.  It  is  of  the  essence  of  the  suggestion 
of  the  two  Commissions  that  the  modified  form  of  the 
franchise  advocated  by  them  should  be  final.  It  might 
be  possible  in  time  for  every  black  man  to  have  a  vote, 
but  these  votes  would  only  have  a  definite  limited  value, 
possibly  an  average  of  only  one-twentieth  to  one-fortieth 
of  the  value  of  the  vote  of  a  white  man.  Would  this 
satisfy  those  who  are  now  claiming  equal  rights  ?  I  feel 
sure  it  would  not,  but  would  only  be  regarded  as  an 
instalment  of  what  was  due,  as  a  position  gained  from 
which  to  make  further  advance.  The  object,  to  the 
attainment  of  which  the  educated  native  would  still  direct 
his  efforts  and  ambitions,  would  be  the  full  franchise, 
equal  rights,  equal  opportunity. 

A  suggestion  respecting  representation  was  made  by 
Lord  Selborne  in  the  address  from  which  I  have  previously 
quoted.  Basing  his  recommendations  on  Cecil  Rhodes' 
celebrated  axiom  "  Equal  rights  for  all  civilized  men,"  he 
would  not  make  any  specially  defined  property  or  educa- 
tional test  the  qualification.  The  test  must  be  civilization, 
and  the  manner  in  which  he  would  apply  it  is  indicated 
thus,  "  I  suggest  that  no  stereotyped  test  will  meet  the 
case,  and  that  the  only  authority  who  could  be  trusted  to 
decide  such  a  contentious  question  truly  and  impartially 
is  a  judge  or  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  nominated 
by  the  Governor  General  in  Council  for  the  purpose. 
To  such  a  tribunal  a  native  might  make  application  for 
the  franchise,  and  on  him  would  rest  the  burden  of  proof 
to  show  that  by  his  general  standard  of  living  and  conduct 
he  was  a  civilized  man.  On  being  satisfied  of  the  civilized 
habits  of  the  applicant,  the  judge  would  order  his  name 
to  be  included  in  the  roll  of  voters,  and  that  native  would 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     273 

remain  a  voter  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  provided  always 
and  of  course  that  he  fulfilled  the  same  conditions  or 
qualifications  as  are  enacted  in  the  case  of  a  white  man, 
but  the  franchise  should  not  descend  by  inheritance  till 
the  third  consecutive  generation  had  been  reached  of 
enfranchised  natives  leading  a  monogamous  and  civilized 
existence." 

Here  is  a  very  moderate  and  conservative  scheme  and 
one  that  is  based  on  a  principle,  the  principle  that  it  is 
civilization  that  should  count,  and  that  every  civilized 
man  should  have  a  vote.  This  appeals  to  me  more  than 
the  Cape  Colony  test,  which  might  easily  admit  a  man 
who,  though  able  to  pass  both  educational  and  property 
tests,  was  essentially  unfit.  I  like  it  also  because  it 
frankly  recognizes  natural  law — that  there  are  racial  as 
well  as  individual  differences,  and  that,  whilst  an}^  white 
man  may  get  the  vote  practically  because  of  his  race,  the 
black  man  must  show  that  he  has  eschewed  and  left  be- 
hind the  grosser  habits  of  his  kind.  I  like  it  also  because 
under  it  the  black  man  will  know  at  what  he  must  aim  ; 
it  will  probably  satisf}^  the  present  educated  natives,  the 
bulk  of  whom  would,  in  all  likelihood,  acquire  the  privilege 
in  the  immediate  future.  The  position  they  have  taken 
up  is  essentially  a  logical  one,  they  have  ever  said  :  make 
the  tests,  educational  or  other,  as  difficult  as  you  like,  we 
will  pass  them  in  time,  but  make  the  reward  a  full  one 
without  reservations — to  be  as  the  white  man.  I  feel 
therefore  that  agitation  for  further  privilege  would  prob- 
ably cease  for  the  present  and  effort  be  directed  to  such 
a  course  of  life  as  would  ensure  the  boon  they  covet. 
It  would  also  mean  that  the  hostility  and  conflict  which 
seem  so  inevitable  to  me  if  the  races  become  politically 
equal,  would  probably  be  deferred  for  some  time.  It 
would  hardly  be  possible  during  a  period  of  excitement 
to  add  very  largely  to  the  electorate  at  short  notice,  as 
might  conceivably  be  the  case  under  present  conditions 
in  the  Cape  Colony. 

These   are    solid    advantages    which    can    hardly    be 

18 


274    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

claimed  for  the  present  system  or  for  the  modified  scheme 
recommended  by  the  two  Commissions. 

One  objection  which  might  be  raised,  is  that  the 
standard  of  what  was  regarded  as  civiHzation  cannot  be 
defined,  and  would  probably  vary  with  the  personality 
and  ideas  of  the  successive  judges,  upon  whom  the  re- 
sponsibility of  passing  electors  would  fall.  Conceivably 
after  a  series  of  years,  the  electors  on  the  roll  might  be 
found  to  include  many  inferior  to  others,  who,  under  the 
stricter  demands  of  a  subsequent  authority,  were  denied 
the  privilege.  But  my  objection  to  it  on  its  merits,  or  as 
compared  with  the  New  Zealand  system  advocated  by 
the  South  African  and  Natal  Commissions,  is  deeper 
seated,  is  what  I  regard  as  a  fundamental  one,  in  that  it 
makes  for  the  further  intermixing  of  the  races  on  a 
common  plane  of  life.  Whilst  admitting  that  the  Abantu, 
as  a  race,  are  uncivilized,  it  would  make  them,  under 
certain  surface  conditions,  the  political  equals  of  the 
white  race.  This  ignores  the  deeper  race  differences, 
race  ideals,  race  characteristics,  the  result  of  descent  and 
environment  accumulating  for  untold  ages,  and  the 
attempt  would  be  made  to  govern  and  frame  the  future 
of  the  country  by  two  forces,  probably  antagonistic  and 
utterly  dissimilar  at  the  base.  The  plan  has  many 
advantages,  as  I  point  out,  but  to  me  all  schemes  which 
mean  the  attempted  government  of  the  country  by  black 
and  white  together  are  fundamentally  wrong,  and  will, 
in  process  of  time,  result  in  disaster. 

I  have  previously  pointed  out  that  the  black  man  may 
have  race  possibilities  of  which  we  have  not  dreamt ;  that 
no  policy  for  the  government  of  the  country,  in  the  best 
interests  of  both  races,  can  be  deemed  to  be  final ;  but  to- 
day, striving  to  frame  a  policy  to  which  we  can  work  for 
the  present,  I  say  no  extension  of  the  power  to  elect 
parliamentary  representatives  must  be  given  to  the 
Abantu. 

A  theory  for  which  its  advocates  claim  much,  even  to 
the  final  solution  of  the  native  question,   has  attracted 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     275 

some  attention  of  late  in  the  Transvaal  and  Natal.  I 
refer  to  the  doctrine  of  segregation  of  white  and  black, 
each  to  have  its  own  area  or  areas,  and  in  that,  work  out 
its  race  salvation  with  as  little  interference  or  admixture 
with  the  other  as  possible.  I  have  indicated  that  some 
such  necessity  seems  to  have  been  felt  by  the  early 
administrators  and  legislators  in  Natal  when  they,  in 
various  ways,  made  provision  for  the  separation  of  the 
natives ;  and  to-day,  one  of  those  who  was  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  conduct  of  native  affairs  in  those  early 
days,  Mr.  John  Shepstone,  C.M.G.,  is  a  strong  and  con- 
sistent advocate  for  the  policy  of  segregation. 

With  the  principle  underlying  this  theory  I  am  in 
complete  accord.  It  must,  I  think,  have  been  apparent 
to  my  readers  that  as  we  proceeded  in  the  inquiry, 
reasons  have  been  gradually  accumulating  which  tend  to 
show  that  the  races  must,  as  far  as  possible,  be  separated  ; 
that  to  secure  the  ethnic  value  of  each  and  prevent 
eventual  strain,  even  to  breaking,  each  must  live  its  home 
life  apart. 

The  white  inhabitant  of  South  East  Africa,  though  in 
many  respects  shrinking  from  the  close  contact  with  the 
backward  race  which  is  part  of  his  life  at  present,  at  the 
same  time  is  conscious  that  that  life  is  made  easier,  with 
more  leisure  and  greater  opportunity  for  personal  ad- 
vantage, than  would  be  possible  in  its  absence.  Seeing 
also  how  intimately  the  native  enters  into  the  industrial 
life  of  the  country,  and  how  dependent  we  all  seem  upon 
him  in  every  phase,  he  may  find  it  difficult  to  realize  that 
his  true  interests  may  be  to  limit  that  contact. 

I  think  too,  an  impression  has  got  abroad  that  the 
apostles  of  segregation  are  demanding  what  is  utterly 
impossible,  the  theory  is  supposed  to  imply  absolute 
segregation  of  every  black  man  on  one  side  of  a  given 
line,  and  every  white  man  on  the  other.  That  this  is  the 
ultimate  ideal  of  some  of  the  segregationists  seems  clear, 
but  some  again  of  those  who  have  committed  their  ideas 
to  writing,  have  been  more  moderate  and  apparently  only 

18  * 


276    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

hope  to  separate  the  great  mass  of  each  race.  That  the 
former  is  at  this  stage  in  our  existence  altogether  im- 
practicable it  does  not  take  much  thought  to  demonstrate  ; 
and  thinking  that  this  Utopian,  chimerical  idea  was  all 
that  was  meant  by  segregation,  the  average  man  dis- 
missed it  from  his  mind,  as  another  fad  of  the  unpractical 
of  which  he  had  heard  enough.  This  I  think  is  a  pity, 
the  idea  contains  a  great  truth  ;  exaggeration  has  pre- 
vented the  acceptance  of  what  the  people  of  South  East 
Africa  must  yet  consciously  take  to  heart,  that  our 
national  life  must  be  lived  as  far  as  possible  apart  from 
that  of  the  Abantu  people. 

How  far  this  is  practicable,  at  this  comparatively  late 
stage  in  our  joint  race  lives,  must  be  subject  for  an  en- 
quiry conducted  on  scientific  methods.  At  present,  it  is 
only  natural  that  opinions  should  differ.  The  question  has 
very  many  sides,  and  there  is  no  man  in  South  East 
Africa  who  alone  is  competent  to  pass  a  matured  judg- 
ment upon  it;  and  the  views  one  hears  expressed  are 
based  on  inadequate  knowledge  and  inquiry,  and  biassed 
by  the  personal  equation  and  personal  interests.  I  can- 
not pretend  to  work  it  out  in  all  its  details  and  ramifica- 
tions ;  it  is  essentially  a  subject  for  long  and  scientific 
inquiry,  but  the  great  principle  I  adhere  to.  The 
inquir}',  so  far  instituted,  has  gradually  established  this 
principle  as  one  of  those  that  must  be  at  the  base  of  any 
policy  for  the  future ;  and  as  far  as  may  be  necessary  to 
co-ordinate  it  with  other  basic  principles,  1  propose  to 
make  the  attempt  in  the  last  chapter  of  this  book. 

Some  writers  on  segregation  have  stated  there  exist 
three  schools  of  thought  or  three  policies  among  the 
people  of  South  Africa  in  regard  to  the  natives  :  ( i )  the  one 
they  advocate — segregation  ;  (2)  repression ;  (3)  fusion 
by  those  who  only  see  blood  assimilation  of  white  and 
black  as  the  ultimate  end  of  the  situation.  I  think  it  is 
misleading  to  call  either  the  repressionists  or  those  who 
imagine  assimilation  is  the  ultimate  goal,  representatives 
of  a  school  of  thought.     The  repressionist,  actuated  by 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     277 

race  pride  and  race  fear,  would  simply  keep  down  the 
black  man  qua  black  man.  The  believer  in  final  as- 
similation, with  a  brown  or  yellowish-white  population 
taking  the  place  of  the  pure  races,  is  not  justified  in 
taking  such  a  gloomy  view  of  the  situation.  I  do  not 
think  those  who  may  be  included  in  these  classes  have 
really  thought  out  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings.  I  do 
not,  therefore,  propose  to  examine  these  so-called  schools 
of  thought  any  further. 

My  object  in  examining  the  various  policies  hitherto 
adopted,  unconsciously  or  otherwise,  by  the  Governments 
administering  native  affairs  in  South  East  Africa,  was  to 
determine  how  far  we  could  discover  in  those  various 
policies,  principles  we  could  be  justified  in  making  part 
of  the  theory  of  native  policy  to  be  formulated.  Whilst 
all  differ,  even  fundamentally,  I  think  we  can  find  some- 
thing of  value  in  each. 

From  the  Transvaal  policy,  the  great  principle  that  the 
white  man  must  rule. 

From  Natal,  that  our  rule  of  the  Abantu  should  be 
personal,  fatherly,  sympathetic,  and  not  rigid  and  imper- 
sonal. And  it  was  recognized  by  the  early  administrators 
that  contact  between  the  races  should  not  be  encouraged. 

It  is  true  that  both  these  principles  have  been  violated 
in  these  latter  days,  and  the  penalty  for  the  breach  of  the 
former  has  been  suffered,  while  the  full  consequences  of 
disregard  of  the  latter  are  delayed  for  the  present. 

From  the  administration  of  the  Cape  Colony  we  learn 
that  we  must  adopt  the  principle  that  the  Abantu  should 
be  encouraged,  under  white  guidance,  to  manage  their  own 
affairs.  And  we  may  also  learn,  that  whilst  they  should 
be  helped  to  take  an  intelligent  interest  in  and  manage 
in  their  own  way  matters  affecting  themselves,  they 
should  not  be  allowed  a  direct  and  equal  voice  in  State 
policy. 

From  Basutoland  that  it  is  possible  to  have  a  people 
contented,  prospering,  and  advancing  in  material  matters 
under  the  old  customs  and  tribal  rule. 


278    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

And  from  both  the  Cape  Colony  and  Basutoland  the 
value  of  Mission  influence  and  education. 

Yet  again  from  the  recent  voices  advocating  segrega- 
tion a  support  of  the  great  truth  that  if  the  races  are  to 
develop  on  lines  which  will  give  each  its  full  and  true 
ethnic  value,  the  points  of  contact  must  be  as  few  as 
possible,  the  races  must  live  their  home  and  race  lives 
separately. 

I  think  it  worth  while,  in  the  light  of  the  information 
we  have  now  got,  to  ask — What  is  likely  to  be  the  position 
of  the  black  and  white  people  of  South  Africa,  in  say  the 
generation  after  next,  if  no  change  of  vital  importance  is 
made  in  the  relations  of  the  races,  if  we  just  muddle  along 
as  has  too  often  been  the  case  in  the  past  ?  I  want  to  try 
and  cast  forward  my  mind,  and  project  the  present  with 
such  developments  as  are  likely  to  take  place  if  we  do 
not  alter  our  course. 

The  black  man,  gradually  freeing  himself  from  tribal 
control,  and  without  adequate  guidance,  comes  into  the 
new  life,  and  not  knowing  or  understanding  the  law  he  is 
expected  to  obey,  becomes  less  law-abiding,  as  witness  the 
fatal  riots  on  the  Witwatersrand  this  Christmas  of  1910, 
and  the  recent  outbreaks  of  the  Amaleita  gangs.  If 
industries  are  established  in  the  towns,  numbers  will 
become  town  dwellers,  probably  deteriorating  in  physique, 
in  manners,  and  conduct,  and  certainly  in  morals,  a  pro- 
letariat unfitted  to  undertake  the  duties  of  citizenship. 
In  the  country  the  location  population  will  get  con- 
gested, the  land  will  not  respond  in  perpetuity  to  the 
constant  and  unrequited  claims  made  upon  it,  and  it  will 
be  increasingly  difficult  for  the  kraal  heads  to  grow  enough, 
even  for  their  own  families.  The  rents  to  natives  on 
farms  not  occupied  by  Europeans  will  steadily  rise,  and 
those  residing  thereon  will  become  more  and  more  dis- 
satisfied with  their  lot;  in  many  cases  rents  will  not  be 
paid,  with  its  legal  consequence — eviction  and  distress, 
and  where  the  evicted  will  find  a  home  no  man  can  tell. 
The  tenants  on  farms  occupied  by  Europeans,  will  find 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     279 

the  land  allotted  to  them  straitened  by  reason  of  in- 
creased cultivation  by  the  owner,  and  fewer  and  fewer 
facilities  for  life  in  the  old  way  by  agriculture  and  stock- 
raising  will  be  given  to  them.  With  increasing  numbers 
and  diminished  opportunities  for  independent  existence 
as  peasant  farmers,  poverty  will  increase,  and  the  old 
independent  life  will  become  impossible.  How  far  paid 
labour  at  industrial  centres  will  replace  this,  will  depend 
on  many  contingencies  which  cannot  be  discussed  in 
detail  here.  The  change  in  environment  and  manner  of 
life  will,  I  fear,  have  a  great  and  deteriorating  effect  on 
character  and  conduct.  The  tendency  of  the  native  to 
incur  debt  will  probably  increase  with  its  attendant 
troubles.  The  present  noticeable  extravagance  of  some 
of  the  young  men  and  their  disregard  of  parental  authority 
will  not  be  lessened  ;  the  attractions  of  a  town  life  will 
draw  more  and  more  to  the  cities,  living  there  by  casual 
work  and  making  another  and  undesirable  factor  in  a 
town  proletariat.  I  have  pointed  out  the  presence  in 
towns  of  organized  bands  of  hooligans,  the  Amaleita 
gangs.  This  is  a  significant  sign  which  has  not  attracted 
the  attention  it  deserves.  An  increase  of  this  class  may 
be  predicted,  unless  conditions  are  greatly  changed.  The 
breakdown  of  family  restraints  will  allow  women  and  girls 
to  wander,  and  visit,  and  remain  in  populous  centres  in 
increasing  numbers,  and  immorality  in  consequence  is 
likely  to  increase  on  the  part  of  casual  visitors  and  per- 
manent residents. 

Education,  learned  at  school  and  picked  up  by  contact 
and  observation,  will  become  much  more  widespread,  a 
knowledge  of  the  English  language  is  bound  to  follow, 
and  an  overlapping  of  the  poor  Europeans  by  the  edu- 
cated Abantu  will  ensue.  This  impingement  and  over- 
lapping will  be  largely  on  the  industrial  side  of  life,  but 
possibly,  to  a  certain  extent,  social  intermixture  will  come 
to  pass.  Experience  in  the  Southern  United  States, 
according  to  Mr.  James  Bryce,  shows  that  the  "mean 
whites"  are  the  class  most  hostile  to  the  negroes,  and 


28o    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

among  these  people  are  found  the  lynchers  and  law- 
breakers. Industrial  competition  would  fan  race  hostility 
here  also,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  there  might  be  some 
social  intermixture  both  lawful  and  illicit.  It  would  appear 
that,  notwithstanding  the  race  feeling  amounting  'to 
hatred,  blacks  and  whites  work  together  in  the  factories, 
ironworks,  and  other  industries,  which  have  gradually 
been  established  in  the  South.  This  industrial  contact 
has  not,  so  far,  had  an  effect  in  diminishing  the  hostility 
between  black  and  white. 

The  increasing  knowledge  which  will  make  them  to 
a  larger  and  larger  extent  competitors  in  industrialism 
with  the  whites,  will  also  tend  to  create  race  conscious- 
ness and  race  ambitions.  No  one  supposes  that  the 
educated  natives  of  Natal  and  the  Transvaal  will,  for 
long,  view  with  quietude  and  complacence  the  present 
position,  the  opportunity  for  political  power  given  to  the 
Cape  Colony  native  and  denied  to  them,  all  equally  citi- 
zens of  one  country  under  one  flag.  A  river  which  may 
be  crossed  on  foot  is  to  make  the  difference  between  a 
helot  and  a  lawgiver.  Dissatisfaction  is  bound  to  grow, 
and  if  the  agitators  realize  the  physical  power  of  millions 
of  their  own  blood  behind  them,  millions  also  dissatisfied 
with  their  lot,  gradually  being  driven  from  the  life  they 
love  to  an  existence  they  hate,  finding  even  that  existence 
becoming  harder  and  harder,  freed  from  the  restraints 
they  respected,  and  ignorant  of  or  despising  the  law 
which  takes  its  place,  the  position  may  become  serious 
indeed. 

Miscegenation  in  Cape  Town  and  many  other  parts  of 
the  Cape  Colony  between  whites  and  coloured,  who  there 
take  the  place  of  the  Abantu  of  South  East  Africa,  is 
becoming  very  frequent.  I  do  not  anticipate  that,  during 
the  time  I  am  now  considering,  it  will  grow  to  the  same 
extent  here,  the  cleavage  between  white  and  Abantu  is 
too  deep;  but  undoubtedly  it  will  increase,  and  the  in- 
crease will,  as  I  pointed  out  elsewhere,  probably  be  of 
the  casual  but  more  vicious  kind.     But  though  it  may  be 


PAST  POLICIES  AND  PRESENT  THEORIES     281 

more  restricted  than  elsewhere,  it  will  undoubtedly  have 
a  serious  effect  on  the  moral  status  of  both  races. 

If  so  of  the  black  man  what  of  the  white  ? 

I  have  told  already  that  the  present  contact  has  shown 
signs  that  make  for  disquietude  in  many  of  those  who 
observe  and  think  over  social  phenomena.  Excepting  in 
a  few  of  an  uncommon  type,  strong,  austere,  self-helpful, 
and  self-reliant  beyond  their  fellows,  the  presence  of  the 
native  connotes  an  easy,  more  or  less  self-indulgent  life, 
which  tends  to  slacken  fibre.  The  tendency  alone  is 
visible  to-day  in  the  parts  more  recently  settled  by  the 
newer  population,  and  who  are  rejuvenated  by  new  comers 
from  lands  where  struggle  among  equals  was  the  rule  of 
life.  But  among  the  older  population  its  tendencies  have 
passed  into  eflfects,  and  they  may  be  seen  in  the  worth- 
less, characterless,  indolent  poor  whites  of  the  remoter 
bush  veldt  and  the  purlieus  of  the  larger  towns.  As  the 
country  develops  along  the  commercial  and  industrial  line 
which  seems  inevitable,  the  struggle  for  existence  will 
become  more  severe  and  some  will  emerge  strengthened 
and  braced,  but  others,  unable  to  face  the  sterner  con- 
ditions, will  succumb.  This  we  see  all  over  the  modern 
world ;  the  difference  here  will  be  that  the  weak  before 
coming  to  their  fall  will  compete  with  those  of  another 
race,  and  when  they  finall}^  go  under  will  lapse  into  the 
conditions  of  existence  in  which  that  race  exists.  If  the 
greatest  asset  of  a  nation  is  the  men  and  women  which 
compose  it,  if  the  formation  and  development  of  character 
in  these  men  and  women  should  be  the  highest  and  ulti- 
mate aim  of  our  private  and  public  activities,  if  economic 
development  and  industrial  achievement  are  only  of  value 
as  assisting  in  this  greater  work,  then  indeed  we  need  to 
consider  the  gravity  of  the  position  in  South  East  Africa. 

Hitherto,  in  this  country,  the  problem  has  ridden 
lightly  upon  us, — a  sparse  white  population  of  exception- 
ally high  original  character  and  ability,  plenty  of  land  for 
black  and  white,  the  black  man  amenable  to  law  and 
order  still  under  the  sanctions  and  controls  of  his  ancient 


282    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

race  life.  Gradually,  as  I  have  shown,  all  is  being 
changed.  We  are  being  drawn  more  into  the  vortex  of 
modern,  industrial,  competitive  life,  the  native  is  altering 
fast  under  the  novel  conditions  brought  into  his  environ- 
ment. The  rate  of  change  is  bound  to  become  cumula- 
tive. What  has  taken  half  a  century  to  accomplish  may 
well  in  the  future  only  take  a  decade. 

I  do  not  think  this  forecast  of  what  the  future  will 
bring,  if  we  persevere  on  our  present  lines,  is  exagger- 
ated. Indeed  many  of  the  results  likely  to  happen  have 
probably  been  underestimated.  All  the  conclusions  I 
have  very  briefly  enumerated  may  be  seen  in  embryo  at 
the  present  time,  or  causes  are  at  present  in  operation 
working  towards  the  ends  I  have  ventured  to  predict, 
and  are  detailed  in  the  chapters  in  which  I  state  the 
present  position  of  black  and  white  in  South  East  Africa  ; 
for  each  result,  the  condition  precedent  may  there  be 
seen. 

Of  course,  these  causes  may  not  have  the  exact  effects 
which  just  now  seem  probable.  Society  is  not  a  matter 
of  atoms  and  molecules,  cells  and  chemical  elements;  the 
human  will  and  conscience  are  factors  in  the  problem. 
Africa,  too,  is  the  country  of  the  unexpected,  but  too 
often  have  we  trusted  to  our  good  fortune  to  turn  aside 
the  coming  catastrophe.  But,  retarded  or  deflected 
though  the  forces  may  be,  no  man  who  is  a  lover  of  his 
race,  no  man  who  realizes  his  duty  to  the  people  among 
whom  our  life  is  being  lived,  can  contemplate  seriously 
such  a  future  for  both,  without  the  gravest  heart-searching. 

We  must  face  the  problem,  its  present  and  its  future; 
we  must  realize  our  responsibilities. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS. 

In  order  to  prevent  a  sufficiently  complex  question  be- 
coming still  more  complicated,  I  have  avoided  making 
detailed  reference  hitherto,  except  when  dealing  with 
miscegenation,  to  the  presence  in  South  East  Africa  of 
a  body  of  coloured  people  of  various  races,  shades  of 
colour,  and  degrees  of  civilization.  The  great  outstand- 
ing ethnological  feature  of  the  country  is,  of  course,  the 
division  into  black  and  white,  European  and  Abantu,  and 
to  that  I  have  naturally  devoted  most  of  my  time  and 
space.  Wishing,  however,  to  make  the  ethnic  position, 
as  it  is  in  this  first  year  of  Union,  complete,  I  feel  I  must 
make  some  reference  first  to  the  Asiatics  domiciled  in  the 
land,  and  secondly  to  the  people  usuall}'^  classed  as 
coloured,  who  always  include  some  measure  of  European 
blood  in  their  ancestry.  Dwarfed  by  the  magnitude  of 
the  native  question,  the  problem  of  the  whole  position 
and  relation,  present  and  future,  of  these  two  classes  in 
the  body  politic  has  not  received  much  serious  attention. 
Although  this  may  truly  be  said  of  the  question  as 
a  whole,  special  aspects  have  claimed,  in  a  spasmodic 
fashion,  the  attention  of  the  public,  and  two  phases  of 
the  Asiatic  question  are  perennial  subjects  of  discussion 
in  Natal.  At  intervals,  letters  appear  in  the  Press  calling 
the  attention  of  the  white  public  to  alleged  intermixture 
of  coloured  children  with  whites  in  public  schools,  and 
occasionally  the  competition  of  skilled  coloured  artisans 
is  commented  on  and  condemned.  The  liberality  of 
Government  in  providing  special  schools  for  the  coloured, 
and  the  obvious  injustice  and  impossibility  of  preventing 

283 


284    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

highly  skilled  specialists,  such  as  are  some  of  the  Mauri- 
tians, from  obtaining  skilled  employment,  has  kept  these 
aspects  of  the  question  from  becoming  acute. 

The  two  phases  of  the  Asiatic  question  which  have 
aroused  much  attention  and  discussion  in  Natal  are  the 
advisability  or  otherwise  of  continuing  the  importation  of 
indentured  Indian  labour,  and  the  trade  competition  in 
the  retailing  business  of  the  Bombay  Mahometan  trader, 
the  so-called  Arab ;  and  to  these  we  will  refer  in  some 
detail  later.  But,  as  I  said  before,  the  whole  question  of 
the  future  of  the  Asiatic  and  coloured  people,  their  relation 
to  the  white  man  and  the  Government,  has  not  received 
attention,  only  the  phases  which  seem  to  threaten  our 
economic,  industrial,  wealth-getting  supremacy,  have  so 
far  interested  us.  Had  we  no  native  question,  this  prob- 
lem in  its  wider  aspect  would  be  accounted  as  sufficiently 
perplexing  in  itself,  and  so  it  will  be  in  the  future ;  mean- 
time the  issues  claiming  attention  have  been  solely 
industrial  and  commercial. 

The  line  of  cleavage  between  the  two  classes,  Asiatic 
and  coloured,  is  fortunately  clearly  marked  and  deep. 
They  differ  in  religion,  language,  customs,  habits,  as  well 
as  in  race.  Although  the  coloured  people  among  them- 
selves differ  widely  in  many  respects,  even  the  Mauritians, 
who  probably  have  some  admixture  of  Asiatic  blood, 
may  be  clearly  differentiated  from  the  Indian,  whether 
the  latter  be  an  immigrant  or  born  in  this  land.  Up  to  the 
present  there  has  been  little  social  or  sexual  intermixture 
between  coloured  and  Asiatic,  the  distinct  differences 
mentioned  will  probably  keep  them  apart  in  the  future. 
The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  relations  of  both 
with  ithe  white  race.  Between  European  and  Asiatic 
there  is  little  in  common ;  although  residing  often  in 
juxtaposition  they  live  their  lives  apart,  socially,  seldom 
mixing  even  in  the  lowest  stratum  of  the  one  and  the 
highest  of  the  other.  The  distinction  is  obviously  not  so 
clear  between  European  and  coloured,  and  there  is  here 
a  certain  amount  of  miscegenation,  and  the  bar  to  social 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     285 

intercourse  is  not  so  high,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  coloured 
people  keep  to  themselves,  and  do  not  associate  with 
Europeans.  Without  claiming  that  there  are  no  inter- 
mediate and  sometimes  puzzling  links,  for  all  practical 
purposes  the  population  of  South  East  Africa  may  be 
divided  into  two  great  races,  European  and  Abantu,  and 
two  sub-classes,  Asiatic  and  coloured,  and  in  the  majorit}'' 
of  cases  the  differences  between  them  are  such  as  to 
make  it  quite  easy  to  distinguish  them. 

The  first  Indian  immigrants  came  to  Natal  in  i860. 
It  seems  singular  that,  with  the  huge  native  population 
even  of  those  days,  and  the  insignificant  number  of  Euro- 
peans, it  was  deemed  necessary  to  introduce  labourers 
from  India.  But  the  attitude  of  the  greater  number  of 
European  colonists  in  the  sixties  and  seventies  towards 
the  Indian  immigrant  was  vastly  different  from  that  of  to- 
day. The  desire  was  that  they  should,  after  their  term 
of  indenture  was  served,  remain  in  the  colony,  take  up 
land,  and  become  an  integral  part  of  the  population. 
Their  industry,  thrift,  and  obedience  to  law  were  extolled, 
and  their  value  to  the  colony  as  permanent  settlers  and 
producers  a  theme  for  leading  articles  in  the  newspapers, 
which  read  strangely  indeed  when  put  alongside  the 
views  propounded  to-day.  For  a  time  immigration  was 
not  rapid,  the  first  demand  supplied,  it  remained  in  abe3'- 
ance  for  some  years,  but  in  1874  it  was  resumed  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  every  year  since  then  has  seen  an  aug- 
mented Indian  population,  until  at  present  there  are  about 
63,000  free  Indians  and  about  45,000  indentured  Indians 
in  Natal,  and  they  considerably  outnumber  the  Europeans 
in  the  country.  This  colony  presents  the  singular 
economic  spectacle  of  having  ten  black  men  who  are 
actual  and  potential  labourers,  and  one  and  one-eighth 
Indians  who  are  actual  labourers,  for  every  European,  and 
yet  Indians  indentured  to  labour  for  five  years  are  still  be- 
ing introduced  from  India,  These  people  are  not  only 
employed  on  the  sugar  estates  of  the  coast,  for  which  in- 
dustry they  were  first  introduced,  but  in  nearly  every 


286    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

branch  of  industry  in  the  colony,  and  many  are  employed 
by  the  Government  and  municipalities.  It  is  a  singular 
thing  to  observe,  when  travelling  in  the  remote  up-country 
districts,  even  on  the  slopes  of  the  Berg,  Indian  labourers 
on  farms  which  are  surrounded  by  swarming  thousands 
of  Abantu. 

As  years  went  by  the  popular  estimate  of  the  desir- 
ability of  the  indentured  Indian  remaining  in  the  country 
became  gradually  modified,  and  to-day  even  among  those 
who  advocate  the  continuation  of  immigration,  few  openly 
do  so  except  on  the  condition  that  he  shall  either  return 
to  India  at  the  termination  of  his  period  of  service,  or 
reindenture  for  another  term  of  five  years  and  then  again 
reindenture  or  depart.  In  other  words  he  shall  only  be 
tolerated  in  Natal  as  a  labourer  bound  to  a  term  of 
service  ;  he  shall  be  continuously  bonded  to  the  white  man 
or  go.  To  carry  this  into  effect  a  law  was  passed  that 
every  Indian  who  did  not  either  return  to  India  or  rein- 
denture must  pay  a  special  tax  of  three  pounds  per  annum. 
This  was  only  intended  to  apply  to  men,  but  the  Act  was 
so  worded  that  in  practice  it  was  made  to  apply  to  women 
also,  and  the  impost  which,  considering  the  status  and 
possible  earnings  of  the  people,  was  far  beyond  anything 
demanded  from  any  other  section  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  colony  even  if  demanded  from  men  only,  worked 
cruel  hardship  when  applied  to  women  also.  Some 
relief  was  afforded  this  year  when  magistrates  were  em- 
powered to  free  deserving  Indian  women  from  the  impost. 
Harsh  and  drastic  as  this  special  class  legislation  must 
be  deemed,  in  justice  to  the  Legislature  it  may  be  said 
that  the  tax  was  not  imposed  in  a  spirit  of  greed,  but  with 
the  sole  object  of  preventing  a  permanent  increase  of  the 
Indian  population,  and  indicates  the  change  of  sentiment 
which  has  come  with  the  passing  years. 

What  was  claimed  by  the  early  advocates  of  Indian 
immigration  has  been  proved  in  large  part  by  our  experi- 
ence of  the  lives  and  habits  of  these  people.  They  have 
been  law-abiding,  industrious,   frugal,  and  have  largely 


.  ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     287 

increased  the  agricultural  production  of  the  country.  It 
is  not  their  shortcomings  or  vices  which  have  caused  the 
change  in  European  public  opinion  ;  it  has  rather  been 
due  to  their  virtues.  Although  they  have  not,  to  any 
great  extent,  become  artisans  except  in  one  or  two  of 
the  less  skilled  callings  such  as  that  of  tinsmith,  they 
have  undoubtedly  made  it  more  difficult  for  some  of  the 
poorer  and  only  partly  skilled  fJuropeans  to  find  suitable 
and  congenial  employment,  especially  in  depressed  times. 
Many  rented  or  bought  small  areas  of  land  which  had 
been  cultivated  by  European  farmers  or  sugar  growers, 
and  tempted  these  either  to  let  their  farms  to  them  at 
high  rentals,  or  sell  and  clear  out  of  the  country  districts 
to  the  towns  or  the  inland  States.  The  general  effect 
has  been  to  accentuate  the  position  of  the  Europeans  as 
an  oligarchy,  and  to  increase  rather  than  diminish  the 
disabilities  he  has  to  encounter  in  any  endeavour  he 
may  make  to  establish  a  virile  self-helpful  race  in  South 
East  Africa. 

Those  who  desire  to  continue  Indian  immigration, 
whilst  deprecating  any  increase  to  the  permanent  Indian 
population,  ask  what  possible  argument  can  be  urged 
against  their  introduction  as  labourers  onl}^,  who  must 
be  repatriated  at  the  end  of  their  term,  if  they  decline 
any  further  bonded  service.  They  view  the  matter  onl}^ 
from  its  economic  side,  and  when  asking  the  question 
disregard  the  wider  issues.  These  same  interrogators 
will,  at  public  meeting  and  dinner,  urge  the  desirability 
of  increasing  the  white  population,  make  laudatory  re- 
ferences to  the  other  large  self-governing  colonies,  and 
urge  us  to  emulate  them  in  building  up'  a  new  nation 
which  shall  be  one  of  the  brightest  jewels,  etc.,  in  the 
British  Crown.  Can  they  not  see  that  the  two  things 
are  incompatible  and  in  their  very  nature  contradictory  ? 
The  essential  and  fundamental  difference  between  South 
Africa  and  the  countries  they  so  freely  quote  and  desire 
us  to  emulate,  is  the  presence  here  of  a  black  proletariat, 
necessarily  limiting  the  numbers  of  the  white  race,  and 


288    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

making  a  condition  of  things  which  tends  to  a  weakening 
of  the  race  'fibre  in  those  who  do  come.  Do  they  not 
see  that  the  introduction  of  every  man  who  adds  to  that 
proletariat,  whether  native  or  Indian,  bond  or  free, 
makes  the  position  more  difficult  for  those  who  take  the 
long  view  and  look  beyond  the  economics  of  the  day  to 
the  future  of  their  race  ?  Possibly  not,  or  if  they  do  the 
interests  of  the  day  weigh  too  heavily  in  the  balance. 

The  instincts  of  the  mass  of  the  Europeans  are 
sounder,  and  though  the  reasons  given  for  opposition  to 
the  policy  of  continued  Indian  immigration  are  too  often 
also  short-sighted  and  selfish,  at  base  is  the  unconscious 
feeling  that  any  strengthening  and  accentuating  of  the 
present  position  is  a  race  danger. 

I  feel,  too,  that  though  there  are  some  who  realize 
that  it  is  our  imperative  duty  to  face  and  consider  the 
native  question  in  all  its  complex  bearings,  the  majority 
will  only  be  induced  to  give  it  any  attention  if  it  is  forced 
on  them  by  economic  stress  for  economic  reasons. 
Whilst  the  employers  of  manual  labourers  could  rely  on 
low-priced  labour,  bound  to  them  absolutely  for  five 
years,  to  be  simply  renewed  by  fresh  requisitions  as  the 
time  expired,  the  native  question  might  remain  uncon- 
sidered. But  this  supply  cut  off,  their  indifference  would 
be  transformed  into  anxiety,  and  from  such  an  awakening 
we  can  certainly  hope  for  more  than  from  the  apathy 
born  of  easy  conditions. 

The  Indian  immigrant  has  other  virtues  than  those 
already  mentioned.  One  strongly  developed  character- 
istic is  a  desire  to  give  his  children  education  and  with 
it  opportunities  to  gain  a  higher  material  and  social 
position.  It  is  quite  a  common  thing  to  see  an  old  and 
toilworn  Indian  couple,  unable  to  speak  any  language  but 
their  own,  living  in  the  most  frugal,  indeed  miserable 
fashion,  with  bright,  intelligent,  well-dressed  children, 
able  to  speak  good  English  and  with  considerable  book- 
learning.  Often  less  industrious  than  their  parents,  these 
latter  take  employment  in  the  less  arduous  callings,  as 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     289 

waiters,  cooks,  drivers,  office  boys,  etc.  They  seem 
addicted  to  change,  and  some  take  up  one  calling  after 
another  with  intervals  of  idleness ;  others,  still  less  in- 
dustrious or  unable  to  find  employment  which  they  think 
equal  to  their  acquirements,  lead  an  idle  and  vagrant  life. 
They  copy  the  European  in  many  of  his  ways,  in  clothing, 
speech,  such  pastimes  as  football,  cricket,  pedestrianism, 
even  pugilism  being  favourite  recreations  or  occupations. 
In  the  latter  they  often  find  support  and  backing  among 
Europeans.  The  literary  education  they  receive  tends  to 
inflate  their  self-importance  and  is  calculated  to  unfit 
them  for  any  of  the  more  laborious  callings  which  are 
alone  open  to  any  number  of  them  ;  often  adepts  at 
penmanship  and  with  a  certain  facility  of  expression, 
they  attempt  to  obtain  clerkships  in  mercantile  houses, 
but  public  opinion  bans  their  employment  along  with 
the  European  clerks.  With  little  hope  of  obtaining  the 
occupations  they  desire,  and  with  a  repugnance  for 
agricultural  and  manual  labour,  their  position  is  an  in- 
vidious one,  and  one  which  should  command  the  atten- 
tion of  the  authorities.  Could  not  the  education  they 
receive  be  modified  and  reformed  with  a  view  to  fit 
them  for  callings,  such  as  agriculture,  which  are  open  to 
them  and  in  which  they  would  find  the  opportunities 
for  lack  of  which  they  are  in  such  an  awkward  and  hope- 
less condition  ?  Meantime  they  drift  into  the  towns  and 
suburbs,  and  form  a  factor  in  our  social  welter  which,  as 
it  increases,  may  cause  some  anxiety  in  the  future.  It  is 
so  far  fortunate  that  they  keep  a  group  apart,  and  do  not 
involve  themselves  with  any  of  the  other  races  and  prob- 
lems, and  we  can  consider  them  and  their  future  as  part 
of  the  Asiatic  sub-problem. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  example  of  the  Indian 
coolie  who  becomes  a  landowner,  growing  varied  crops 
under  an  intensive  system  of  cultivation,  sometimes 
amassing  comparative  wealth,  has,  like  the  example  of 
the  European,  had  little  effect  on  the  native.  He  some- 
times lives  in  the  close  neighbourhood  of  the  Indian,  and 

19 


290    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

though  in  a  few  cases  copying  his  better  methods,  usually 
does  not  condescend  to  follow  the  example  of  the  alien, 
but  continues,  in  somewhat  incongruous  surroundings,  to 
live  the  home  life  of  his  fathers. 

A  few  words  now  of  the  commercial  class  who  came 
originally  from  Bombay,  who  are  Mahometans,  are  en- 
tirely engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  and  are  commonly 
in  South  East  Africa  miscalled  Arabs.  Originally  follow- 
ing the  Indian  coolie,  whose  trade  requirements  they 
thoroughly  understood,  they  soon  realized  the  lucrative 
nature  of  the  retail  native  trade,  made  a  study  of  it,  and 
within  a  few  years  captured  the  bulk  of  it  from  the 
Europeans.  From  this  they  advanced  to  cater  for  Euro- 
peans, and  they  now  do  a  very  considerable  trade  with 
the  farmers  in  the  country  districts  all  over  Natal,  and 
with  the  artisans  and  other  Europeans  in  the  towns. 

At  one  time  it  almost  seemed  as  if  they  would  still 
further  advance  and  prove  a  serious  competitor  with  the 
European  for  the  large  and  valuable  wholesale  trade  of 
the  colony.  Their  opportunities,  especially  during  the 
early  days  of  Johannesburg,  were  very  great,  they  were 
on  the  spot  when  the  Witwatersrand  was  in  the  making, 
and  when  fortunes  were  easil3'^  amassed  at  store-keeping. 
Some  wholesale  stores  for  the  supplying  the  retailers  of 
their  own  race  were  started  in  Durban.  Born  traders 
though  they  are,  and  quite  able  to  compete  with  the 
European  in  a  small  way  of  business  in  which  economy 
and  constant  attendance  are  important  factors,  they  seem 
to  lack  the  ability  and  qualifications  necessary  to  manage 
a  business  on  a  large  scale,  so  that,  whilst  holding  their 
own  as  retailers,  they  have  practically  failed  to  implement 
their  opportunities  as  wholesale  merchants.  The  Euro- 
pean merchant  firms  in  the  large  towns  supply  these  Arab 
retailers,  often  giving  them  long  credit  and  what  practi- 
cally amounts  to  financial  support. 

The  great  mass  of  the  European  colonists  view  these 
Bombay  traders  with  great  disfavour.  It  is  pointed  out 
that  these  Bombay  traders  have  made  impossible  for  the 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     291 

white  man  the  old  calling  of  Kaffir  storekeeping  by  which 
scores  or  hundreds  made  a  comfortable  and  easy  living  in 
past  times.     This  argument  is  regarded  as  a  final  and 
conclusive  reason  why  the  Indian  trader  should  be  dis- 
couraged, and  any  legislative  enactments  placing  special 
disabilities  upon  him  are,  by  this,  condoned  or  justified. 
After  a  long  acquaintance  with  the  kind  of  life  entailed 
upon  those  who  supply  the  wants  of  the  native,  especially 
in  far-away  and  remote  districts,  I  am  not  persuaded  by 
this  final  argument.     I  know  of  some  who  lived  isolated 
lives  as  storekeepers  among  the  Abantu,  and  who  brought 
up  families  who  hardly  saw  an  unfamiliar  white   face, 
families  who  have  been  and  are  a  credit  to  the  country,  but 
it  was  not  always  so,  nor  was  it  to  be  expected  from  the 
premises.    The  very  fact  of  his  catering  for  the  wants  and 
desires  of  the  members  of  an  inferior  race  placed  the  white 
man  in  a  false  racial  setting.     He  expected  deferential  and 
respectful  treatment,  his  colour  superiority  and  privileges 
must  be  recognized  by  the  Abantu  among  whom  and  by 
whom  he  lived.     And  much  to  the  credit  of  the  black  man 
it  may  be  said  that,  notwithstanding  the  relative  positions 
of  the  parties,  such  claims  or  assumptions  were  generally 
conceded.     But  the  white  man  was,  after  all,  there  in  the 
position  of  one  asking  favours  or  seeking  clients  from 
whom  he  expected  benefits,  and  the  black  man  knew  it, 
and  his  behaviour  and  conduct,  though  it  might  not  be 
contumacious,  was  that  of  one  for  the  time  being  in  the 
superior  position.     Doubtless  the  native  also  benefited  by 
the  presence  of  the  storekeeper,  he  disposed  of  his  hides 
and  mealies  and  had  desirable  goods  brought  to  his  door  ; 
but  he  knew  perfectly  well  his  value  as  a  customer  and  it 
coloured  his  attitude  to  those  seeking  his  trade,  and  there 
was  a  difference  in  his  bearing  towards  the  white  man 
who  was  independent  and  the  white  man  who  desired 
and  sought  for  his  pecuniary  goodwill. 

Perhaps  this  did  not  much  matter  in  the  case  of  a  single 
man  of  mature  age,  whose  character  was  formed,  and  who 
could  resist   the  temptations   incident   to  the  situation. 

19  * 


292    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

But  some  of  the  storekeepers  were  married  men,  their 
wives  or  daughters  spoke  the  native  language,  and  they 
either  regularly  or  at  intervals  stood  behind  the  counter 
of  the  store,  often  crowded  with  naked  natives  of  both 
sexes,  who  feeling  that  it  existed  for  their  convenience, 
although  respectful,  were  not  delicate  nor  restrained  in 
language  or  behaviour  ;  again  often  the  management  of  a 
small  store,  far  away  in  the  location,  was  in  the  hands  of 
a  youth  or  young  man.  The  life  was  unlaborious,  exceed- 
ingly monotonous,  but  requiring  personal  attendance  all 
the  time.  Days,  even  weeks  might  pass  without  a  white 
face  being  seen, 'but  he  was  in  constant  intimacy  with  the 
Abantu  living  all  around.  Troops  of  laughing  unre- 
strained girls  came  constantly  to  the  store  and,  what 
might  be  predicted,  too  often  happened,  and  the  isolated 
one  became  for  life  a  white  Kaffir.  In  Zululand,  Pondo- 
land,  Swaziland,  the  conditions  are  still  present ;  in  Natal 
the  competition  of  the  Indian  trader  has  made  them  less 
frequent  of  recent  years.  Whether  for  good  or  ill  depends 
on  the  point  of  view ;  the  general  opinion  is  that  the 
Bombay  trader  has  stolen  the  privilege  of  the  white  man 
and  done  him  a  grave  disservice.  Financially,  Yes ;  racially 
I  cannot  say  Yes  with  emphasis,  for  I  know  that  this  point 
of  contact  meant  danger  to  both  races.  One  other  point 
must  be  scored  to  the  credit  of  this  Indian  trader.  As  a 
Mahometan  he  is  an  abstainer  from  intoxicants  and,  keen 
trader  as  he  is,  does  not  pander  to  the  cravings  of  the 
native  for  strong  drink.  In  this  respect  a  much  worse 
man  might  have  replaced  the  European. 

But  the  ordinary  man  does  not  consider  this  side.  They 
furnish  a  concrete  case  of  the  displacement  of  the  white 
man,  and  he  cannot  condone  it.  Yet  it  is  the  white  man 
who  gives  them  credit  and  financial  support,  he  sells  or 
rents  to  them  eligible  store  sites  and  gives  them  other 
facilities;  it  is  the  white  man,  both  in  town  and  country, 
who,  in  many  cases,  makes  their  continuance  possible  by 
becoming  a  customer. 

With  all  this,  through  the  Legislature  he  endeavoured 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     293 

to  reduce  their  numbers  and  hoped  by  refusing  to  grant 
any  more  hcences,  and  gradually  eliminating  those  at  pre- 
sent held,  to  get  entirely  rid  in  time  of  the  Indian  trader. 
Some  of  the  legislation  passed  to  this  end  was  advanced 
by  specious  argument,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  defend 
it  on  the  score  of  justice,  and  the  violation  of  conscience 
engendered  by  this  course  of  action  has  been  felt  b> 
many  in  the  colony,  though  any  defence  of  these  men 
was  exceedingly  unpopular.  It  followed  on  the  false 
step  of  introducing  Indian  coolies,  which  has  directly 
and  indirectly  committed  South  East  Africa  to  many 
social  difficulties,  and  led  to  action,  apparently  dictated 
by  motives  of  self-preservation,  which  could  not  be  justi- 
fied. It  has  been  a  case  of  taking  the  lower  road,  the 
line  of  least  resistance,  which,  though  apparently  at  first 
clear  and  open,  leads  invariably  into  jungle  and  morass. 
The  gods  will  not  be  deceived. 

At  the  present  time  the  Indian  population  is  much 
agitated  owing  to  the  action  of  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment towards  the  passive  resisters  of  the  law  there.  I 
do  not  propose  to  enter  into  the  merits  or  demerits  of 
that  question,  but  I  think  the  brief  recital  of  the  history 
of  the  Asiatics  in  South  East  Africa  which  I  have  given 
indicates  the  necessity  for  some  further  and  more  effec- 
tive protection  of  their  interests  than  there  is  at  the 
present  time. 

For  many  years  after  Indians  formed  part  of  the 
population  of  Natal,  there  was  no  political  discrimination 
made  against  them.  They  did  not  evidence  any  great 
desire  for  representation,  but  a  number  of  them,  especiall}^ 
the  Bombay  trader  class,  were  registered  in  the  usual 
way  as  electors.  In  the  nineties,  however,  a  ver}'  strong 
popular  agitation  was  got  up  among  the  Europeans 
against  the  admission  into  the  colony  of  any  more  free 
Indians,  and  whilst  the  fervour  was  on  the  Government 
was  pressed  to  bring  in  an  Act  which  practically  pre- 
vented any  more  Indians  becoming  voters,  the  new  law 
providing  that  no  resident  of  Natal  shall  be  eligible  as 


294    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

an  elector  unless  he  came  from  a  country  enjo3nng  similar 
representative  institutions  to  those  of  the  colony.  The 
Indian  names  on  the  roll  have  remained,  none  have  been 
added,  and  they  are  negligible  as  a  political  power. 

Our  relations  with,  and  treatment  of,  these  people  in 
the  past,  is  not  a  page  of  our  history  of  which  we  can  be 
particularly  proud,  and  I  do  not  want  to  dwell  on  it 
further.  It  is  time,  however,  that  our  relations  were 
settled  on  a  basis  fair  to  them  and  understandable  to  us. 
Like  the  native  they  vary  greatly  in  intelligence,  educa- 
tion, general  ability,  character,  the  lowest  (notwithstand- 
ing their  ancient  civilization)  much  on  a  par  with  the 
kraal  native,  and  certainly  far  below  many  of  the  Amako- 
Iwa,  the  highest,  in  certain  respects,  surpassing  some 
Europeans.  The  position  is  much  the  same  as  that  of 
the  native  in  this  respect.  Whatever  may  be  the  ac- 
cepted theory  about  our  common  Aryan  descent,  they 
are  really  as  far  apart  from  us  as  is  the  native  in  speech, 
religion,  habits,  ideals, — a  race  totally  apart  with  whom 
we  can  never  assimilate.  Fortunately,  they  too  have 
evinced  no  desire  for  closer  contact ;  if  they  are  allowed 
to  make  a  living  without  disabilities  being  imposed  on 
them  they  are  quite  willing  to  do  so  apart  from  us,  as  far 
as  may  be.  And  I  think  they  should  be  so  treated.  The 
line  of  demarcation  between  Indian  and  European,  Indian 
and  native,  Indian  and  coloured  is  clear,  and  should  be 
kept  clear.  We  cannot  attempt  separation  as  I  have 
shown  I  desire  in  the  case  of  the  native  ;  their  livelihood 
and  modes  of  living  are  too  much  bound  up  in  our  civili- 
zation ;  they  are  now  too  much  a  part  of  the  body  politic 
to  make  it  possible.  But  no  attempt  should  be  made  to 
break  down  existing  barriers.  Separate  schools  should 
be  provided  as  at  present.  1  would  not  advocate  that 
they  should  be  given  the  franchise  on  the  same  basis  as 
Europeans. 

Were  they  alone  with  us  in  the  country,  the  position 
would  be  different,  but  we  must  consider  each  factor  in 
the  body  politic,  and  regulate  our  policy  and  actions  in 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     295 

the  interest  of,  and  with  regard  to  the  position  of  them 
all.  To  admit  the  Indian  to  the  franchise  and  exclude  the 
native,  would  certainly  not  be  just  to  the  African,  the  son 
of  the  soil,  who  as  such  would  consider  himself  to  have, 
at  least,  equal  claims  with  the  interloper.  To  refuse  any 
representation  means,  as  I  have  shown  in  the  case  of  the 
native,  and  as  must  be  apparent  to  all  who  know  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Indian  in  Natal,  neglect  of  their  interests  and 
on  occasion  harsh  or  inconsiderate  treatment.  I  would 
advocate  the  appointment  of  a  body  of  representative 
Indians  who  would  be  the  equivalent  of  the  district  pitsos 
of  the  natives.  They  should  meet  at  least  once  a  year, 
and  the  expressions  of  opinion  and  grievances  voiced 
should  be  recorded  and  further  considered  by  a  small 
council  of  Europeans  who  should  be  to  the  Indian  com- 
munity what  the  European  Native  Affairs  Council  is  to 
the  native  population.  The  Indian  Council  should  advise 
Government  of  the  desires  and  complaints  of  the  people  ; 
their  opinion  should  be  formally  placed  before  Parliament 
before  any  legislation  affecting  the  Indian  population  was 
considered,  and  representatives  of  the  Council  should  have 
a  right  of  speaking  before  the  Houses  of  Parliament  on 
any  such  contemplated  legislation.  The  Prime  Minister, 
who  should  undertake  no  other  portfolio,  should  be  the 
minister  for  Indians  as  well  as  natives.  The  highest  in 
the  land  should  be  responsible  for  the  general  human  in- 
terests of  all  who  live  in  it.  I  advocate  this  course,  be- 
cause we  have  here  a  distinct  cleavage  of  race,  and  I  am, 
before  all  else,  desirous  of  preserving  our  race  integrities. 
Also  because  we  ought  to  make  the  position  of  these 
people  clear,  and  it  will  be  far  better  for  us  to  face  it  fairly 
than  to  juggle  with  it  and  with  our  consciences  as  we 
have  done  in  the  past.  My  policy  is,  no  more  Indian 
immigration  free  or  indentured ;  fair  treatment,  to  be 
clearly  laid  down,  to  those  who  are  alread}^  in  the 
country. 

An  observant  visitor  to  Natal  from  Cape   Town  or 
other  part  of  the  Western  Province  of  Cape  Colon}'  is 


296    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

invariably  struck  with  the  preponderating  number  of 
natives  and  the  presence  of  Asiatics  in  the  country,  and 
not  uncommonly  feels  pity  for  those  who  must  live 
surrounded  by  barbarism,  or  the  representatives  of  a 
civilization  alien  to  their  own,  and  wonders  how  the 
problem  of  such  heterogeneous  elements  living  in  one 
land  can  be  solved.  Equally,  to  a  Natal  resident  visit- 
ing Cape  Town  the  mixed  coloured  population  of  that 
city  and  neighbourhood  is  a  feature  that  deeply  impresses 
him.  He  sees  a  mixture  of  races  to  which  he  is  quite 
unaccustomed.  Hottentot,  Bushman,  Mozambique  black, 
Malay,  and  other  peoples  from  the  Far  East,  liberated 
slaves  from  West  and  East,  Abantu,  and  European  all 
fused,  in  varying  proportions,  to  make  the  coloured  Cape 
people  of  to-day.  At  one  end  of  the  scale  he  sees  men 
and  women  almost  white,  well 'educated,  well  spoken, 
well  dressed,  courteous  and  restrained  in  manner,  and  at 
the  other  end  of  this  colour  scale  some  whom  he  con- 
siders inferior  to  the  ordinary  native  or  Indian  coolie  of 
his  home.  He  hears  that  it  is  quite  a  common  thing 
for  the  European  immigrant  introduced  for  railway  and 
mechanical  work  to  marry,  even  to  prefer  to  marry, 
women  of  colour,  and  is  told  that  at  the  other  end  of  the 
scale  there  is  reinforcement  from  the  black  side.  He  sees 
a  toleration  of  colour  and  a  social  admixture  to  which  he 
is  quite  unaccustomed ;  it  is  evident  in  the  streets,  on  the 
tramcars,  in  the  railway  stations,  public  offices,  and  in 
places  of  entertainment.  Should  he  take  a  walk  in  Plein 
Street  on  a  fine  Saturday  evening  he  will  witness  a  sight 
impossible  in  an  Eastern  town  such  as  Durban  or  Pieter- 
maritzburg.  The  street  is  crowded,  footway  and  road- 
way alike  full  of  strollers,  all  shades  and  all  colours,  but, 
generally  speaking,  all  neatly  dressed  and  all  well  behaved. 
As  a  rule  whites  and  coloured  people  keep  apart  and  do 
not  mix,  but  there  are  very  many  exceptions  ;  he  will,  for 
instance,  not  infrequently  see  cases  corroborative  of  the 
miscegenation  between  the  races  of  which  he  has  been 
informed.     Young  white  men  will  be  seen  walking  with 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     297 

well-dressed  coloured  girls,  and  an  older  European  may 
often  be  seen  with  coloured  wife  and  children  of  varying 
shades,  taking  the  air,  and  gazing  in  the  shop  windows. 
The  doors  of  a  Bioscope  entertainment  are  open,  and  the 
crowd  waiting  admission  and  jostling  each  other  as  they 
get  tickets,  includes  representatives  of  every  colour  from 
the  light-haired  fair  complexioned  Scandinavian  sailor  or 
English  workman  to  the  sooty-black  of  the  Shangaan, 
and  if  he  enters  the  over-crowded  room  and  braves  the 
foetid  atmosphere,  he  will  find  no  distinction  made,  all 
and  any  colour  occupy  the  same  seats,  cheek  by  jowl,  and 
sometimes  on  each  other's  knees. 

The  problems  of  South  East  Africa  struck  the  Western 
Cape  colonist  as  complex  beyond  his  comprehension  ;  this 
problem  of  the  Old  Cape  Colony  makes  the  visitor  from 
the  East  wonder  what  is  to  be  the  end  of  this,  to  him, 
kaleidoscopic  and  bewildering  intermixture  of  those  he 
has  regarded  as  set  apart  by  a  law  of  Nature,  and  he  is 
probably  thankful  that,  great  though  his  racial  difficulties 
are,  they  still  are  primarily  racial,  the  races  have  not 
broken  down  into  an  indistinguishable  welter.  It  is  the 
knowledge  of  the  position  over  considerable  areas  of 
South  West  Africa,  the  Cape  Peninsula  and  areas  ad- 
jacent, which  forces  from  some  the  prediction  that  the 
future  population  of  the  country  will  be  neither  white  nor 
black  but  shades  of  yellow  and  brown,  that  the  extremes 
will  be  gradually  absorbed  in  the  dusky  central  mass. 
The  question  is  one  of  great  scientific  interest,  and  an 
inquiry  into  all  its  aspects  would  be  most  valuable,  and 
is  one  that  should  be  undertaken  by  some  one  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  people  and  country  in  which  these  social 
phenomena  can  best  be  studied. 

We  too  have  the  coloured  question  in  South  East 
Africa,  but  the  coloured  population  is  insignificant,  and 
the  problem  by  so  much  less  insistent,  than  in  the  Cape 
Colon}^  The  principal  groups  who  are  neither  European, 
Abantu,  nor  Asiatic  are  immigrants  from  the  island  of  St. 
Helena  and  their  descendants,  Mauritians,  Cape  boys,  and 


298    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

half-castes  between  European  and  Abantu.  According 
to  the  Natal  census  of  1904  the  St.  Helenas  numbered 
1 150,  the  Mauritians  1232,  English  and  Dutch  half-castes, 
who  may  be  taken  as  being  the  first  cross,  871  and  208  re- 
spectively, and  Cape  Colony  and  other  half-castes,  who 
are  probably  in  the  majority  of  cases  of  much  less  simple 
descent,  1765. 

The  St.  Helenas  are  principally  town  dwellers  and  are 
engaged  largely  in  store  work  and  kindred  occupations ; 
they  live  as  Europeans,  and  English  is  their  language. 
The  Mauritians  speak  French  as  their  mother  tongue,  but 
nearly  all  speak  more  or  less  English  ;  many  are  employed 
as  skilled  specialists  in  sugar  production,  others  as  ar- 
tisans, and  others  on  the  Government  railways.  The 
Cape  boys  are  scattered  over  the  colony,  engaged  on  farm 
work,  as  drivers  and  handy  men.  Practically  all  the  first 
two  groups,  and  most  of  the  Cape  men,  live  a  life  similar  to 
that  of  their  European  neighbours.  They  have  nothing 
in  common  with  the  Abantu,  whom  they  engage  as 
domestic  servants  like  their  neighbours  ;  their  aims  and 
ideals  are  those  of  the  white  man.  They  are  not  denied 
the  franchise,  and  socially  they  keep  apart ;  the  members 
of  each  group  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  form  a  society 
of  their  own.  As  they  are  good  citizens  in  every  sense 
of  the  term,  and  their  numbers  are  small  as  compared 
with  the  total  white' population,  they  do  not  constitute  a 
serious  problem  in  South  East  Africa.  A  real  practical 
difficulty  is  that  the  Cape  boy  grades  into  the  half-caste 
who  is  the  offspring  of  white  man  and  native  woman, 
and  the  latter  is  often  a  native  in  the  eye  of  the  law  and 
subject  to  the  class  legislation  specially  affecting  natives. 
It  is,  in  my  opinion,  both  just  and  politic  to  give  these 
people  the  same  status  as  Europeans.  There  is  a  certain 
amount  of  prejudice  against  them,  but  most  of  the  ques- 
tions which  arise  can  be  met  by  tact  and  judgment,  and 
some  of  these  people  are  of  such  a  character  that  their 
personality  and  conduct  attenuates  or  removes  the  pre- 
judice in  their  case. 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     299 

I  should  say  that  the  Europeans  object  to  share  their 
schools  with  the  children  even  of  these  highest  coloured 
classes,  and  that  separate  schools  have  been  established 
by  Government  for  the  coloured  people.  Distinctions 
are  recognized  and  prejudices  are  present  among  them- 
selves, for  the  Mauritians  refuse  to  send  their  children  to 
the  school  open  to  all  coloured  pupils,  and  rather  than  do 
so  have,  in  Durban,  opened  one  or  two  schools  of  their 
own.  The  education  they  can  command  is  much  inferior 
to  what  they  could  get  at  the  Government  Coloured 
School ;  but  rather  than  mix  with  some  other  sections  of 
coloured  people  they  are  willing  to  accept  a  poorer  edu- 
cational standard  for  their  children. 

The  Natal  half-castes  diflfer  from  any  of  the  other 
groups,  and  deserve,  in  an  inquiry  such  as  this,  a  little 
more  detailed  attention.  A  large  number,  perhaps  a 
majority,  are  the  descendants  of  the  ver}'^  early  European 
settlers,  who  espoused  native  women,  sometimes  marr}-- 
ing  them  according  to  Christian  rites,  but  generally  by 
native  custom.  At  that  time  there  were  but  few  Euro- 
pean women  in  the  country,  and  the  establishments  thus 
set  up  were  in  accordance  with  native  ideas,  and  appear 
to  have  been  sanctioned  by  such  European  public  opinion 
as  there  might  have  been  at  that  time.  They  were  not 
regarded  as  merely  temporary  attachments,  but  were  in 
truth  marriages  with  responsibilities  on  both  sides.  The 
father,  who  was  the  party  to  the  contract  most  likely  to 
evade  his  duties,  appears  to  have  acknowledged  and 
carried  out  his  obligations  to  wives  and  children.  The 
latter  bore  his  name,  and  to-da}^  they  and  their  offspring 
bear  the  surnames  of  some  of  the  best  known  of  the  earl}- 
settlers. 

These  people  all  live  in  the  country  districts,  on  the 
land,  usually  in  the  districts  in  which  they  were  begotten, 
and  form  a  class  apart  from  black  and  white  alike.  It 
would  be  wrong  to  say  there  had  been  no  subsequent 
connection  with  either  of  the  original  races,  but  in  the 
greater  number  of  cases  they  live  their  own  social  life. 


300    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

and  unite  in  marriage  with  their  own  people;  few  are  the 
cases  in  which  they  revert  to  the  black  house,  and  they 
are  almost  universally  monogamists. 

There  is  a  widely  accepted  theory  that  the  result  of  a 
union  between  white  and  black,  or  indeed  between  white 
and  any  coloured  and  backward  people,  is  a  breed  which 
seems  to  combine  all  the  weaknesses  and  vices  of  both 
parent  stocks  and  none  of  the  virtues  of  either.  This 
does  not  seem  to  me  to  apply  in  the  case  of  these 
Eur-africans.  Physically  they  are  a  fine  people,  in  some 
cases  with  a  colour  and  complexion  distinctly  attractive, 
not  the  sickly  yellow  of  many  other  half-breeds,  but  a 
light  brown  with  a  tinge  of  red  ;  both  men  and  women 
often  large,  robust,  well  set  up,  with  a  tendency  to  cor- 
pulence, and  with  good  features.  They  do  not  often 
display  the  energy  and  will  power  of  their  fathers,  but  to 
some  extent  this  is  due  to  lack  of  opportunity,  their  un- 
defined status  and  anomalous  position,  and  the  deadening 
influence  of  their  narrow  and  restricted  environment. 
In  any  case  they  do  not  substantiate  the  somewhat  cynical 
generalization  I  have  quoted,  for  their  general  conduct  is 
good,  and  they  do  not  seem  to  have  any  specially  vicious 
tendencies. 

Another  charge  which  is  levelled  against  half-castes, 
and  indeed  coloured  people  generally,  is  that  the}^  are 
much  more  loose  in  morals  than  either  of  the  original 
constituent  races.  Some  extenuating  circumstances  must 
be  remembered.  Too  often  they  are  the  offspring  of 
temporary  or  illicit  unions  formed  only  on  physical  at- 
tachment, without  any  of  the  motives  coming  into  play 
which  make  for  the  highest  among  ourselves,  or  at  best, 
the  physical  enters  much  more  largely  into  the  impulse 
than  is  usually  the  case  in  marriage  between  Europeans. 
The  probability  is  that  this  does  react  in  some  measure 
on  the  character  of  the  children  begotten  of  such  a  union. 
But  assuredly  the  people  we  are  now  considering  have 
stood  fast  against  the  greatest  temptation  of  all,  to  lapse 
into  the  black  mass  all  around  them,  and  particularly  to 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     301 

resume  the  habit  of  polygamy  recognized  and  practised 
by  one  side  of  their  ancestry. 

Unfortunately,  all  the  half-castes  do  not  belong  to 
these  settled  families,  stronger  than  others  in  that  they 
had  the  recognition  of  their  white  fathers.  There  are 
some  waifs  and  strays  who  become  a  burden  on  the 
mother's  house,  and  who,  though  probably  with  racial 
characteristics,  instincts,  impulses,  and  desires  trans- 
mitted from  the  father's  side,  have  only  the  environment 
and  opportunities  of  the  black  man.  If  the  difficult  and 
anomalous  position  of  those  in  the  best  case  excite  our 
sympathy,  far  more  those  who  have  not  the  society  and 
support  of  those  like  unto  them. 

Mr.  P.  A.  Barnett,  in  his  address  on  "  Problems 
and  Perils  of  Education  in  South  Africa "  to  which  I 
have  already  made  reference,  takes  rather  a  gloomy  view 
of  the  character  and  ability  of  these  people.  I  do  not 
think  he  has  sufficiently  realized  the  hopelessness  of  their 
lives  and  its  deadening  influence  on  character.  Sur- 
rounded in  every  case  by  huge  masses  of  black  barbarism, 
without  education  literary  or  industrial,  in  an  anomalous 
position,  scorned  by  the  white  and  suspected  by  the 
black,  with  tendencies  and  aspirations  they  must  feel  but 
which  are  only  born  to  be  stifled,  what  could  be  expected  ? 
Sympathy,  encouragement,  hope  and  an  outlook  would 
make  a  vast  difference.  Cheering  instances,  though 
naturally  infrequent,  do  actually  occur.  The  son  of  a 
white  man  who  married  a  Zulu  woman  by  Christian  rites 
acquired  a  primary  education  under  considerable  diffi- 
culties. To  somewhat  ease  the  strain  of  his  immediate 
surroundings  he  went  to  the  Cape  Colony,  and  got  a 
position  as  junior  teacher  in  a  country  school.  Whilst 
working  there,  he  continued  his  studies  and  entered  for 
the  Cape  University  Matriculation  Examination,  which  he 
passed.  He  went  on  with  his  studies,  working  all  the 
while,  and  then  entered  for  the  Intermediate  Examination 
of  the  same  University.  He  not  only  passed,  but  won  a 
bursary,  which  entitled  him  to  a  scholarship  of  between 


302    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

i^8o  and  £(^o  a  year  for  four  years  at  one  of  the  University 
Colleges  of  the  Cape  Colony.  He  travelled  hundreds  of 
miles  to  the  college  at  his  own  expense,  and  presented 
himself  at  the  doors,  only  to  be  refused  admittance. 
Deeply  depressed  but  not  daunted  he  ultimately  found 
admittance  to  another  of  the  colleges  affiliated  with  the 
university,  but  in  another  part  of  the  colony;  here  he  pays 
his  own  way,  working  for  a  degree  in  law.  The  curious 
may  draw  several  deductions  from  this  incident,  I  confine 
myself  to  the  one  :  there  are  half-castes  and  half-castes. 

If  all  these  people  were  of  the  settled,  organized,  self- 
contained  class  to  which  I  first  referred,  the  position 
would  be  much  simplified.  But  we  cannot  ignore  the 
fact  that  there  are  some  unfortunates  who,  largely  from 
the  nature  of  their  environment,  are  far  below  the  rest  in 
the  scale  of  civilization  and  attainment.  The  law  itself 
is  in  a  hopeless  muddle  about  the  status  of  many.  Whilst 
there  is  no  practical  difficulty  in  everyday  life  in  recog- 
nizing a  native,  what  constitutes  a  native  in  the  eye  of 
the  law  has  been  the  subject  of  legal  controversy,  with 
varying  judgments  and  subsequent  complications,  which 
seem  to  baffle  lawyer  and  layman  alike  to  straighten  them 
out. 

In  Natal,  under  the  law  to  extend  and  define  the 
meaning  of  native,  Griquas  and  Hottentots  are  expressly 
excluded.  In  other  statutes,  current  at  the  same  time, 
these  people  came  under  the  definition  of  native. 

In  the  Transvaal,  native  includes  coloured  person,  and 
coloured  person  may  mean  such  different  races  as  Hindoos, 
Chinese,  American  negroes,  and  persons  from  St.  Helena. 
It  is  again  defined  as  a  person  either  of  whose  parents 
belong  to  any  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  south  of  the  equator. 

The  net  was  spread  wide  in  the  Orange  Free  State, 
for  coloured  person,  which  includes  natives,  was  there 
defined  to  include  all  who  in  accordance  with  law  and 
custom  are  called  coloured  persons,  of  whatever  race  or 
nationality  they  may  be  ! 

To  this  welter  of  confusion  both  the  South  African 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     303 

and  Natal  Native  Commissions  were  instructed  to  give 
their  attention,  and  the  duty  devolved  on  them  of  de- 
fining what  was  to  be  meant  by  the  word  native. 

The  former  passed  the  following  preliminary  resolution 
apparently  simply  to  clear  the  ground  for  their  inquiry. 

"  For  the  purposes  of  this  Report  the  word  native 
is  used  by  the  Commission  in  the  sense  accepted  in  the 
several  British  Colonies  and  possessions  in  South  Africa." 

Considering  the  many  and  various  senses  in  which 
the  word  is  used  and  has  been  defined,  this  is  rather 
naive,  but  anyone  who  has  himself  attempted  a  definition 
will  extend  his  sympathy  to  the  Commission  in  their 
dilemma. 

They,  however,  subsequently  go  further,  and  in  clauses 
Tl  and  74  go  on  to  say  :  *'  There,  however,  the  matter  did 
not  end,  for  it  appeared  of  the  utmost  importance  to  pro- 
ceed further  and  suggest  a  broad  definition  for  future 
adoption.  This  is  admittedly  a  most  perplexing  problem. 
It  is  notorious  that  a  great  deal  of  racial  intermixture  has 
taken  place,  and  many  of  the  so-called  coloured  people 
have  by  their  industry,  intelligence,  and  self-respect 
raised  themselves  to  a  high  standard.  In  coming  to  a 
conclusion,  due  weight  was  given  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  many  have  attained  their  present  worthy 
positions,  which  it  is  not  intended  to  disturb.  But  there 
should  be  a  basis  upon  which  the  colonies  shall  approach 
each  other  with  a  view  to  a  common  understanding. 
The  Commission  recommends  : — 

"That  the  word  native  shall  be  taken  to  mean  an 
aboriginal  inhabitant  of  Africa  south  of  the  Equator,  and  to 
include  half-castes  and  their  descendants  by  natives." 

This  would  mean  in  Natal  that  a  half-caste  born  in 
Christian  marriage,  living  a  civilized  life,  speaking  Eng- 
lish, the  husband  of  one  wife,  a  law-abiding  and  pro- 
gressive citizen,  would  come  under  native  law  which  he 
might  not  understand,  and  be  subject  to  all  the  class 
legislation  and  disabilities  under  which  natives  labour. 

Consider  the  complications  likely  to  ensue.     I  will 


304    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

only  adduce  two.  Many  others  will  occur  to  those  who 
know  the  position.  A  half-caste  is  a  native  under  native 
law,  he  must  of  necessity  enrol  himself  under  a  chief  as 
member  of  a  tribe,  he  is  denied  the  use  of  liquor,  cannot 
possess  or  carry  firearms,  has  no  vote,  has  to  take  out  an 
identification  pass  before  he  can  seek  work,  a  pass  if  he 
wishes  to  go  out  of  the  colony,  a  pass  to  be  out  after 
9  p.m.  in  towns;  he  may  legally  possess  a  plurality  of 
wives  and  living  rights  in  a  location.  He  marries  a 
half-caste  like  himself  and  is  satisfied  with  her  alone.  If 
I  read  the  conclusion  of  the  Commission  aright  his 
children  not  being  '  descendants  of  half-castes  by  natives  ' 
are  Europeans.  These  children  I  take  it  are  not  any 
nearer  to  Europeans  in  blood  relationship  than  is  he  ; 
they  may  be  the  father's  particular  shade,  or  lighter,  or 
darker.  Mixed  breeds  have  notoriously  a  tendency  to 
revert  in  the  most  unaccountable  and  apparently  erratic 
fashion  to  their  ancestors,  often  their  remote  ancestors, 
on  either  side.  A  father,  and  his  son — who  may  look 
much  more  like  a  native  than  his  father,  but  both  of  whom 
are  half-castes — go  out  together.  The  son  may  call  in 
a  canteen  and  have  a  drink,  the  father  must  stay  outside ; 
the  father  must  take  out  innumerable  passes,  the  son 
goes  where  he  will  unfettered ;  the  son  parades  the 
streets  of  a  town  all  night,  the  father  must  rush  to  shelter 
at  what  time  the  bell  tolls  nine ! 

In  one  part  of  the  South  African  Union,  now  one 
common  country,  the  Transkeian  territories,  it  is  possible 
for  a  pure-blooded  native  who  may  live  in  a  hut,  wear 
only  a  blanket,  paint  his  face,  and  be  a  polygamist,  to 
obtain  the  franchise  and  be  in  the  eye  of  the  law  as  is  a 
white  man.  In  another  part  not  far  distant,  the  province 
of  Zululand,  a  man,  half  of  whose  blood  is  European — in- 
deed he  may  be  in  still  larger  proportion  of  European 
descent ;  whose  education,  conduct,  and  mode  of  life  are 
altogether  removed  from  that  of  the  natives ;  who  is 
educated  and  who  educates  his  children  ;  who  would  pass 
any  standard  of  civilization  likely  to  be  applied,  is  accord-. 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     305 

ing  to  the  law,  a  native,  subject  to  all  the  disabilities  I 
have  so  frequently  mentioned,  and  the  common  tribesman 
of  a  chief  who  lives  in  a  hut  and  whose  only  clothing  is 
a  skin  about  his  middle.  This  is  actually  the  position  in 
the  Union  of  South  Africa  to-day.  If  the  definition  of 
the  South  African  Commission  became  law,  no  relief 
would  be  given  to  such  a  man,  he  must  remain  rooted  to 
the  spot  on  which  he  lives,  unable  to  change,  if  even  for 
another  place  in  the  location,  without  the  permission  of  a 
chief,  without  any  title  in  reason  to  exercise  such  auto- 
cratic power  over  another  in  every  respect  his  immeasur- 
able superior. 

I  cannot  accept  a  definition  which  will  work  such  in- 
justice, and  rather  than  do  so  would  open  the  door  to  some 
who  might  possibly  not  be  fitted  for  any  other  law  or  life 
than  that  of  the  native.  Numerically  these  are  few,  and 
our  object  should  be  to  raise  the  few  to  the  status  of  the 
many  and  again  improve  on  that.  The  intent  of  the 
Commission  was  doubtless  to  penalize  lapses  back  into 
barbarism,  but  a  more  generous  treatment  would  do  more 
to  prevent  backsliding  than  the  policy  of  punishing  a  few 
offenders. 

I  prefer  the  spirit  of  the  conclusion  to  which  the  Natal 
Commission  came,  which  is  as  follows : — 

Clause  60.  "  A  definition  has  been  attempted  in  one  way 
or  another  by  some  seven  or  eight  statutes  with  a  resultant 
conflict  of  opinion  and  confusion  of  ideas  as  to  what 
persons  or.  classes  fall  within  the  definition  given.  The 
object  of  these  attempts  has  been  to  declare,  not  only 
those  who  are  subject  to  native  law,  but  also  those  who, 
being  outside  the  domain  of  that  law  have  been  placed 
under  certain  restrictions  in  the  use  of  liquor,  the  supply  of 
firearms,  and  the  exercise  of  the  Parliamentary  franchise. 
The  question  is,  therefore,  not  without  its  difficulties,  as 
racial,  legal,  personal,  and  political  considerations  are 
involved.  Its  bearing  upon  those  who  should  and  should 
not  come  within  the  operation  of  native  law  has  received 
the  most  attention,  and  it  was  resolved  to  recommend 

20 


3o6    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

that  onl}'  those  who  are  racially  and  of  full  consanguinity 
connected  with  some  African  tribe,  following  the  tribal 
system,  accepting  polygamy  and  the  rule  of  a  chief,  or  any 
one  of  these  customs  or  conditions  of  life,  should  be  placed 
under  native  law.  This  proposition  is  intended  to  be 
far-reaching  in  its  effects,  as  it  not  only  affords  a  clearer 
exposition  of  the  term  than  any  others  which  have  been 
attempted,  but  it  is  expressly  designed  to  release  that 
large  body  of  intelligent  and  respectable  persons  known 
as  half-castes  from  the  operation  of  the  law,  and  from 
which  they  have  been  desirous  of  freeing  themselves 
for  years.  As  a  rule  they  are  monogamists  and  conform 
their  lives  to  civilized  usages,  and  their  aspirations,  not- 
withstanding many  drawbacks,  are  mipressively  towards 
the  legal  position  of  the  "white  father,"  objecting  to  be 
thrust  down  to  the  level  of  the  "black  mother".  The 
exceptions  to  the  general  emancipation  of  this  class  would 
be  the  few  who,  with  the  sanction  of  native  law,  under 
which  they  have  been  living  (forced  to  live),  have  con- 
tracted polygamous  marriages.  These  being  known, 
could,  if  necessary,  be  registered  as  exceptions  to  the 
general  liberation  of  the  rest.  There  are  already  a  con- 
siderable number  of  this  class  who  are  the  offspring  of 
legal  marriage,  and  these  associate  with  the  majority  who 
have  sprung  from  irregular  or  unknown  unions.  The 
foregoing  remarks  apply  more  particularly  to  the  majority 
whose  position  is  most  anomalous.  Contemned  by  the 
European  and  distrusted  by  the  native,  moral  duty  and 
political  expediency  alike  demand  that  the  representations 
which  appear  in  the  evidence  should  be  generously  enter- 
tained. To  give  effect  to  this  recommendation  would  be 
a  simple  yet  skilful  diplomatic  move,  and  it  would  not 
injure  the  community  if  they  were  also  freed  from  the 
disabilities  regarding  the  use  of  liquor  and  firearms.  A 
considerable  number  of  them  have,  rightly  or  wrongly, 
been  on  the  voters  roll,  a  fact  that  intensifies  the  confusion 
regarding  their  legal  status.  There  are  many  of  the 
same  mixed  origin  from  the  Cape  Colony,  Mauritius,  and 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     307 

St.  Helena  who  have  never  been  deemed  in  any  sense  to 
be  under  native  law,  and  it  is  strongly  urged  that  the  time 
has  come  when  all  who  attune  their  lives  according  to 
those  of  the  dominant  race  should  live  under  the  same 
laws  and  exercise  the  same  privileges.  In  laws  imposing 
disabilities  the  classes  intended  to  be  brought  within  their 
operation  should  be  specifically  named  without  attempting 
therein  to  define  the  term  native," 

In  so  far  as  this  clause  will  apply  to  full-blooded 
natives  I  have  dealt  with  it  elsewhere.  Unjust  and  im- 
politic alike  is  the  attempt  to  keep  the  mixed  group  to 
the  lower  status  from  which  they  are  so  anxious  to 
emerge,  and  all  the  privileges  and  responsibilities  of  the 
white  race  should  be  theirs  by  reason  of  consanguinity. 
Some  few  unworthy  would  be  included,  but  I  am  indeed 
mistaken  if  the  higher  status  they  would  then  assume 
did  not  prove  a  barrier  and  bulwark  against  barbarism. 

This  would  of  course  mean  that  they  would  have 
the  vote  and  exercise  it  along  with  those  of  their 
fathers'  kin.  There  would  then  be  a  clear  demarcation 
between  them  and  those  they  had  left,  and  in  all  but 
colour  with  its  inevitable  social  distinctions  they  would 
be  with  the  white  man.  If  we  accept  this  doctrine  it 
should  be  whole-heartedly,  and  the  disadvantages  and 
disabilities  to  ourselves  should  never  be  dwelt  upon. 

I  am  not  therefore  in  favour  of  Lord  Selborne's  re- 
commendations made  in  the  address  I  have  before  quoted, 
imposing  certain  special  tests  on  these  people  before  they 
obtain  the  franchise.  Half-measures  will  not  satisfy', 
full  recognition  will  be  a  powerful  lever  to  upraise  them, 
a  stimulus  to  which  the  majority  will  respond. 

Lord  Selborne,  making  civilization  the  test  for 
representation,  logically  demanded  that  those  who  formed 
a  group  which  included  some  who  perhaps  could  hardly 
be  called  civilized  should  prove  their  fitness,  and  thus 
spoke  :  "  I  maintain  that  the  wise  and  just  policy  is  to 
give  the  coloured  people  the  benefit  of  their  white  blood, 
not  to  lay  stress  on  the  black  blood,  but  to  la}'  stress  on 

20  * 


3o8    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

the  white  blood,  and  to  make  any  differentiation  between 
them  and  the  whites  the  exception  and  not  the  rule. 
It  follows  from  this  expression  of  opinion  that  I  would 
give  the  coloured  man  the  franchise  on  the  same  terms  as 
the  white  man,  but  I  would  insist  upon  his  first  passing 
the  same  test  of  civilization  as  I  have  suggested  in  the 
case  of  the  native.  Such  a  test  is  absolutely  necessary, 
because  there  is  a  proportion  of  the  coloured  population 
which  has  reverted  to  the  type  of  their  uncivilized 
ancestry,  and  that  proportion  must  be  excepted  from  any 
share  in  the  government  of  the  country.  The  test  would 
be  no  hardship  and  carry  no  indignity  to  the  coloured 
men  who  would  be  able  to  show  they  had  led  a  consistently 
civilized  life  in  no  way  differing  from  that  of  the  white 
man  of  corresponding  station.  Once  a  coloured  man  had 
passed  this  test  then  the  qualification  for  the  franchise  on 
equal  terms  with  the  white  man  should  descend  by 
inheritance  and  without  a  renewed  test  to  his  sons  unless 
he  had  been  so  foolish  as  to  marry  an  uncivilized  native 
woman." 

In  practice  I  think  this  would  prove  unworkable  in 
South  East  Africa.  Certainly  the  Mauritians,  St.  Helenas, 
and  others  in  South  East  Africa  who  would  fall  into  this 
category  and  who  cannot  revert  to  the  practices  of  bar- 
barian ancestors,  for  they  know  them  not,  would  resent 
the  implication  bitterly.  So  also  would  a  large  number 
in  the  Cape  Colony.  To  the  half-castes  of  South  East 
Africa,  the  Eur-africans,  there  is  present  a  temptation  to 
revert,  but  when  not  isolated  among  Abantu  and  when 
there  is  an  incentive  to  stand  fast,  I  do  not  find  they 
yield  readily.  Their  numbers  too  are  limited,  and  becom- 
ing an  integral  part  of  a  community  civilized  and  over- 
whelmingly white,  pursuing  a  policy  tending  towards  the 
differentiation  of  black  and  white,  the  ambitions  of  these 
people  might  be  trusted  to  uphold  the  ideals  of  the  race 
to  which  they  aspired.  The  generous  policy  is  here,  I 
think,  the  wise  policy  ;  we  want  to  bind  these  unfortunate 
relations  of  ours  to  us,  and  not  force  them  into  the  ranks 


ASIATIC  AND  COLOURED  SUB-PROBLEMS     309 

of  those  who,  though  related  to  them,  are  separated  from 
us  by  such  a  deep  abyss. 

I  do  not  mean  that  social  contact  should  be  en- 
couraged or  even  condoned.  It  may  be  that  a  gradual 
absorption  of  a  few  into  our  ranks  will  be  inevitable,  but 
even  this  I  regard  as  undesirable.  At  present  this 
happens,  and  at  the  same  time  the  black  element  is 
strengthened  by  infiltration  from  below.  If  this  could 
be  discouraged  or  prevented,  the  danger  would  be  much 
reduced.  With  wider  opportunities  a  race  pride  might 
be  established  which  would  serve  as  a  protective  barrier 
on  their  side  as  well  as  ours.  The  problem  is  a  complex 
one,  the  issues  are  doubtful,  elements  of  anxiety  are 
present,  but  our  race  is  in  the  larger  part  responsible  for 
these  people  and  we  cannot  now  ignore,  much  less  re- 
press them. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

Having  now  looked  at  the  native  as  he  was  and  is,  what 
he  is  tending  to  become,  his  relation  to  the  land,  his 
position  as  labourer,  the  work  of  Missions,  education 
and  its  effects  upon  him,  his  attitude  to  the  white  man 
and  his  government,  the  past  policies  of  the  various 
Administrations  and  certain  current  theories,  I  proceed 
now  to  place  before  the  reader  a  policy  for  the  future 
based  upon  the  results  of  the  inquiry  and  already  fore- 
shadowed, which  will,  I  trust,  be  worthy  of  some  con- 
sideration. After  what  has  been  said  of  the  effect  of  his 
special  environment  on  the  white  man,  any  such  policy 
will  not  commend  itself,  unless  it  does  much  to  minimize 
the  ill-effects,  present  and  prospective,  of  the  position, 
and  provides  a  more  hopeful  outlook  for  the  coming 
generations  of  our  race  in  South  East  Africa. 

I  lay  down  as  a  basis  three  fundamental  principles  : — 

1.  The  white  man  must  govern. 

2.  The  Parliament  elected  by  the  white  man  must 
realize  that  while  it  is  their  duty  to  decide  upon  the  line 
of  policy  to  be  adopted,  they  must  delegate  a  large 
measure  of  power  to  those  specially  qualified,  and  must 
refrain  from  undue  interference. 

3.  The  main  line  of  policy  must  be  the  separation  of 
the  races  as  far  as  possible,  our  aim  being  to  prevent  race 
deterioration,  to  preserve  race  integrity,  and  to  give  to 
both  opportunity  to  build  up  and  develop  their  race  life. 

Our  first  principle  I  regard  as  absolutely  essential, 
and  to  it  I  stand  fast.  We  cannot  contemplate  the  conflict 
of  race  ideals  in  the  Government  of  South  Africa.     Eor 

310 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  311 

good  or  ill  the  white  man  and  what  he'stands  for  must  be 
paramount.  It  would  be  a  grave  disservice  to  the  black 
man  himself  to  weaken  or  deflect  the  ideals  and  aspira- 
tions of  the  superior  race.  Not  light  heartedly  do  I 
demand  for  my  own  people  this  responsibility,  nor  do  I 
advocate  it  because  I  desire  for  them  power  and  material 
wealth  as  a  result,  but  because  I  feel  that  only  among 
them  will  the  desire  to  serve  be  strong  enough  to  secure 
the  Government  on  a  basis  of  right  and  justice.  We  want 
to  aim  at  the  highest,  and  I  think  the  co-operation  of  the 
black  man  at  this  stage  in  his  development  would  tend 
to  drag  us  down. 

My  second  principle,  however,  indicates  the  difficulty 
of  the  white  man's  task.  A  homogeneous  population  of 
Europeans  under  democratic  government,  with  manhood 
suffrage,  is  quite  capable  of  managing  its  own  affairs,  and 
I  do  not  share  the  misgivings  of  many  with  regard  to  the 
future  in  Britain,  Australia,  or  New  Zealand  where  the 
democracy  rules.  I  trust  the  reason  and  common  sense 
of  the  people.  But  it  is  quite  another  matter  when  we 
ask  all  these  electors  not  only  to  undertake  the  manage- 
ment of  their  own  affairs,  but  to  wisely  rule  a  subject 
population  many  times  their  number.  The  many  quali- 
fications I  thought  necessary  for  one  who  would  form  a 
true  judgment  on  native  matters,  mentioned  in  a  previous 
chapter,  and  some  measure  of  which  ought  to  be  shared 
by  the  electorate,  are  largely  absent  from  them.  As  a 
rule,  beyond  the  point  at  which  the  native  impinges  on 
their  daily  life  they  are  not  interested  in  him ;  their  own 
affairs  engross  their  attention.  The  difficulties  of  native 
government  and  legislation  are  so  great  and  involved, 
that  to  properly  fulfil  their  duty,  the  electors  ought  to 
make  a  special  study  of  it,  but  this  the  great  mass  will 
never  do.  And  as  the  people  are,  so  will  their  repre- 
sentatives be.  Fortunately  we  have  a  minority  who  do 
study  this  question,  and  others  who,  by  reason  of  their 
upbringing  and  surroundings,  have  knowledge  of  the 
natives  and   their  requirements.     To  these  we  look  to 


312    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

instruct  and  guide  the  mass  of  the  electors  in  deciding 
upon  the  general  policy  to  be  adopted  to  the  native 
population.  This  broad  policy  cannot  be  evolved  by  the 
electorate  ;  the  wisest  among  us  must  endeavour  to  do  it, 
but  under  our  form  of  government  none  but  the  electors 
can  finally  decide  upon  it.  Beyond  this,  both  the  con- 
stituencies and  their  representatives  in  Parliament  should 
decide  they  cannot  go,  and  the  further  government  and 
administration  of  native  affairs  be  entrusted  to  those 
specially  fitted  for  the  task.  Parliament  should  pass  a 
self-denying  Ordinance  or  Charter  for  native  govern- 
ment, giving  large  powers  to  a  permanent  Council  for 
native  affairs,  and  the  necessary  statute  among  other 
things  should  provide  : — 

That  no  legislation  specially  affecting  natives  shall 
be  introduced  into  Parliament  until  the  Council  has  con- 
sidered and  reported  upon  it.  Such  report  shall  be  read 
in  Parliament,  and  two  members  of  the  Council  shall 
have  full  opportunity  of  addressing  both  Houses  on  the 
measure. 

That  the  Council  consider  all  existing  class  legislation 
affecting  natives,  and  advise  with  regard  to  revision,  con- 
solidation, or  cancellation  if  these  or  any  are  considered 
necessary. 

For  regular  sessions  of  the  Council  at  which  they 
should  deliberate  upon  all  questions  affecting  the  native 
population,  advise  the  Minister  with  regard  to  necessary 
legislative  and  administrative  changes,  and  suggest  action 
for  the  advancement  and  betterment  of  the  condition  of 
the  people. 

That  an  annual  report  be  prepared  by  the  Council  and 
laid  before  Parliament. 

The  Council  should  be  under  the  Prime  Minister,  who 
should  represent  it  and  the  native  population  in  Parlia- 
ment. This  would  give  dignity  and  stability  to  the 
office  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives.  For  the  highest  in  the 
land  would  represent  them,  and  though  he  may  be  changed, 
it  is  more  likely  that  the  policy  will  be  continuous,  if  the 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  313 

head  of  the  Government  takes  it  over  from  his  predecessor, 
and  hands  it  in  turn  to  the  man  responsible  above  all 
others. 

The  members  of  the  Council  should  be  appointed 
for  a  long  term  of  office,  and  special  provision  be  made 
that  they  shall  only  be  removable  after  the  gravest 
consideration. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  they  should  be  men  of 
great  ability,  specially  qualified  by  a  knowledge  of  native 
affairs  and  sympathy  with  the  people,  and  consider  it  their 
life's  work. 

When  the  Council  was  not  in  Session  they  would  be 
expected  to  visit  localities  inhabited  by  natives,  and  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  the  general  position  of  affairs 
and  report  to  the  Council  the  results  of  their  investiga- 
tions. But  in  no  case  should  they  appear  to  the  natives 
of  a  district  as  superseding  the  Administrator,  who  should 
to  those  immediately  in  his  charge  be  the  representative 
of  Government. 

The  Council  should  be  originators,  and  the  co-ordi- 
nators  of  the  work  done  by  those  who  come  into  actual 
contact  with  the  native  population. 

I  may  say  here  that  at  intervals  of  say  every  five 
years  there  should  be  a  full  inquiry,  a  stocktaking  of  the 
whole  position  as  affecting  the  races.  An  investigation 
into  the  results  of  the  policy  so  far  pursued.  An  attempt 
to  discover  any  tendencies  not  foreseen,  and  to  get  back 
to  bedrock  principles  if  any  part  of  the  structure  has  been 
laid  on  wrong  foundations.  Such  inquiry  should  not 
only  include  some  of  those  responsible  for  native  affairs, 
but  others  of  different  and  varied  experience,  who  could 
take  an  independent  survey  of  the  whole  field. 

The  first  proposition,  that  the  white  man  must  rule, 
will  be  almost  unanimously  approved  by  the  Europeans 
of  South  East  Africa,  and  largely  endorsed  throughout 
the  sub-continent.  The  second  calls  for  some  sacrifice 
on  the  part  of  the  ruling  race,  but  may  be  accepted  if 
people  and  Parliament  realize  they  are  not  specially  fitted 


314    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

for  the  task  of  governing  beyond  the  point  I  have  laid 
down.  But  with  regard  to  my  third  principle  of  separa- 
tion I  cannot  be  certain,  for  it  involves  an  actual  sacrifice 
of  what  is  tangible  and  valuable  for  a  future  good,  a  test 
of  such  magnitude  as  is  applied  but  to  few  peoples. 

I  feel  I  must  therefore  deal  with  it  in  some  detail  and 
again  enter  the  field  of  controversy,  and  before  I  leave  it  try 
to  anticipate  and  answer  objectors.  The  sacrifice  de- 
manded will  be  some  of  the  land  of  the  country  on  which 
the  Abantu  may  live  their  separate  home  lives.  How 
much  will  be  required  we  cannot  tell,  it  must  be  the  subject 
of  a  special  inquiry.  I  think  one  of  the  first  duties  of  the 
Native  Affairs  Council  should  be  to  inspect  all  areas  set 
apart  for  exclusive  use  of  the  natives  to  see  how  far  they 
are  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  native  population.  Some 
approximate  standard  will  have  to  be  set,  and  I  suggest 
that  the  basis  should  be  the  provision  of  an  area  for  each 
family  adequate  to  the  reasonable  support  of  that  family, 
with  a  reserve  over  and  above  that  for  increase  of  popula- 
tion. If  it  should  be  shown  that  sufficient  land  was  not 
already  provided  in  the  locations  of  Natal  and  Zululand, 
the  Transkeian  territories,  Swaziland,  and  the  location 
areas  of  the  Transvaal,  inquiry  should  be  made  as  to 
what  suitable  unalienated  land  was  available  and  a  report 
sent  in  to  Parliament  to  the  end  that  further  provision  be 
made.  It  is,  of  course,  not  the  intention  to  immediately 
divide  this  land  up,  or  even  settle  natives  upon  it,  or 
at  present  do  much  to  alter  the  distribution  of  natives 
upon  the  land.  We  need  to  make  a  beginning,  and  if  we 
accept  the  doctrine  that  for  the  sake  of  the  future  we  must 
make  for  separation,  then  the  first  step  and  the  principal 
one  is  to  find  what  land  is  necessary  and  set  it  apart. 

The  South  African  Native  Affairs  Commission  saw 
the  danger  to  both  races  from  indiscriminate  mixing  on 
the  land,  and  a  majority  supported  resolutions  limiting 
the  power  of  purchase  of  land  by  natives  to  certain  areas 
to  be  demarcated.     They  saw  the  need  of  separation. 

Clause  191  reads  thus: — 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  315 

"  It  is  a  fact  that  say  twenty-five  years  ago  there 
were  comparatively  few  landowners  by  purchase  in  the 
Cape  Colony  and  Natal  where  to-day  they  exist  in  con- 
siderable numbers.  The  capacity  to  purchase  by  collec- 
tive process  if  necessary,  is,  to-day,  in  excess  of  what 
it  formerly  was.  Furthermore,  there  is  a  manifest  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  native  to-day  being  made  to  possess 
land  which  is  not  counteracted  by  any  reluctance  on  the 
part  of  Europeans  to  dispose  of  it  so  long  as  the  sellers 
are  not  themselves  bound  to  live  in  the  proximity." 

Clause  192.  "  If  this  process  goes  on  while  at  the  same 
time  restrictions  exclude  Europeans  from  purchasing 
within  native  areas,  it  is  inevitable  that  at  no  very 
distant  date  the  amount  of  land  in  native  occupation  will 
be  undesirably  extended.  Native  wages  and  earnings 
are  greater  than  they  used  to  be,  their  wants  are  few, 
their  necessary  expenses  small.  They  will  buy  land  at 
prices  above  its  otherwise  market  value,  as  their  habits 
and  standard  of  living  enable  them  to  exist  on  land  that 
it  is  impossible  for  Europeans  to  farm  on  a  small  scale. 
There  will  be  many  administrative  and  social  difficulties 
created  by  the  multiplication  of  a  number  of  native  units 
scattered  throughout  a  white  population  owning  the  land 
of  the  country  with  them.  Such  a  situation  cannot  fail 
to  accentuate  feelings  of  race  prejudice  and  animosity 
with  unhappy  results.  It  will  be  far  more  difficult  to 
preserve  the  absolutely  necessary  political  and  social 
distinctions  if  the  growth  of  a  mixed  rural  population  of 
landowners  is  not  discouraged." 

Clause  193.  "The  Commission  has  arrived  almost 
unanimously  at  the  conclusion  that  it  is  necessary  to 
safeguard  what  is  conceived  to  be  the  interests  of  the 
Europeans  of  this  country,  but  that  in  so  doing  the  door 
should  not  be  entirely  closed  to  deserving  and  progressive 
individuals  among  the  natives  acquiring  land,  and  has 
resolved  as  follows  :— 

"  That  certain  restrictions  upon  the  purchase  of  land  by 
natives  are  necessary,  and  recommends  : — 


3i6    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

1.  "That  purchase  by  natives  should,  in  future,  be 
limited  to  certain  areas  to  be  defined  by  legislative 
enactment. 

2.  "That  purchase  of  land  which  may  lead  to  tribal, 
communal,  or  collective  possession  by  natives  should  not 
be  permitted." 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  majority  of  the  Com- 
mission subscribe  will  seem  a  very  harsh  one  to  many. 
I  support  it,  quite  as  much  in  what  I  conceive  to  be  the 
interests  of  the  Abantu  as  of  my  own  people.  But  only 
if  we  adopt  a  liberal  land  policy  to  the  native  people  such 
as  I  have  outlined.  We  cannot  have  our  cake  and  also 
eat  it,  we  have  tried  too  often  to  do  that  in  South  Africa. 
In  this  case,  if  the  white  man  is  to  feel  secure  in  that  no 
black  man  be  allowed  to  become  a  neighbour,  bringing 
social  and  material  disadvantages  in  his  train,  he  must 
be  prepared  to  grant  to  the  black  compensating  advantages 
such  as  I  have  indicated. 

The  South  African  Commission  see  the  dangers  of 
intermixture  and  favour  separation  when  the  .material 
interests  of  the  white  man  are  threatened.  I  advocate 
it  as  a  principle  to  be  carried  out  even  if  we  suffer  in 
material  things. 

The  areas  set  apart  in  which  natives  can  acquire 
land  by  purchase  should  be  sufficiently  large  to  sup- 
port a  community  numerous  enough  to  supply  itself 
with  all  it  needs  for  its  social  life.  There  must  not  be 
small  black  areas  scattered  among  the  whites.  In  these 
areas,  exclusively  for  natives,  there  should  be  white 
supervision  and  such  benefits  and  amenities  as  were 
present  in  the  locations.  Any  provision  made  for  educa- 
tion and  self-government  there,  should  apply  here  also. 
Regulations  should  be  framed,  preventing  the  accumula- 
tion of  large  areas  in  the  hands  of  one  man  and  pro- 
hibiting speculation. 

It  is  quite  possible,  that  when  investigation  has  been 
made  and  everything  done  to  provide  land  sufficient  for 
the  home  life  of  the  native  people,  a  surplus  number  may 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  317 

remain  for  whom  no  provision  is  possible.  In  any  case 
for  the  many  thousands  who  reside  on  unoccupied  farms 
in  Natal  and  the  Transvaal  it  will  be  impossible  to  find 
land  in  native  areas  for  years  to  come.  Meantime  such 
farms  should  come  under  the  supervision  of  Government, 
and  constitute  private  locations  under  Act  of  Parliament 
on  somewhat  similar  lines  to  the  Cape  Colony  Act  deal- 
ing with  them.  Also  at  some  future  time,  when  full 
investigation  has  been  made  and  organization  in  the 
native  areas  has  made  it  possible  to  find  homes  for  the 
evicted,  similar  laws  to  those  at  present  on  the  statute 
books,  and  now  in  abeyance,  should  be  put  into  operation, 
and  the  number  of  tenants  on  farms  occupied  by 
Europeans  be  limited  to  those  actually  required  for 
labour  purposes. 

It  will  be  patent  to  those  who  have  followed  me 
thus  far  that  the  underlying  principles  of  the  recom- 
mendation I  am  now  making  is  the  separation  of  the 
races  to  an  extent  hitherto  never  attempted,  the  pre- 
servation of  the  home  life,  and  race  integrity,  and  the 
prevention  of  race  overlapping,  contact,  and  conflict. 
They  will  therefore  be  prepared  to  admit  that  there 
should  be  no  violation  by  the  white  man  of  the  areas  set 
apart  for  the  Abantu.  Only  those  would  be  admitted  as 
residents  into  these  reserves  who  were  there  primarily 
for  the  benefit  of  the  natives,  administrative  officers, 
missionaries,  and  teachers.  Trading  licenses  issued 
during  pleasure  and  specifically  conferring  no  vested  in- 
terests might  be  allowed,  but  the  idea  is  that  the  natives 
shall  in  time,  under  guidance,  be  fitted  to  fulfil  all  the 
duties  pertaining  to  their  separate  existence.  Within 
the  native  areas,  a  black  man  will  have  many  rights  and 
privileges  ;  two  obligations,  however,  will  be  absolutely 
imperative,  the  broad  policy  governing  his  affairs  must 
be  dictated  by  the  white  man  through  his  Parliament,  and 
he  must  be  absolutely  loyal  to  the  central  Government, 
which  is  in  turn  responsible  to  the  Empire,  and  in  a  wide 
sense  to  the  civilized  world  at  large. 


3i8    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

So,  and  contingent  thereon,  a  generous  policy  may 
well  be  adopted,  making  the  black  man's  land  one  attrac- 
tive to  him,  freeing  him  there  from  the  irritation  and 
overlordship  of  individual  whites,  and  giving  him  every 
opportunity  for  personal  and  race  development.  But 
outside  this  domain  and  within  the  area  of  the  white  race, 
he  has  no  such  privileges.  Should  he  go  there  for  any 
purpose,  he  must  conform  and  submit  to  laws  and  regula- 
tions made  by  the  white  man  for  the  benefit  of  the  white 
man. 

Our  future  in  South  Africa  depends  so  largel}^  on  the 
view  we  may  take  of  this  question  of  separation  that  I 
feel  it  necessary  to  anticipate  some  arguments  which  will, 
I  foresee,  be  urged  against  it ;  and  I  take  three  which  will 
probably  be  the  chief  ones  advanced.  First  it  will  be  said 
this  is  another  case  of  pampering  the  native, — the  white 
man  does  not  get  areas  of  free  land  set  apart  for  him,  he 
must  buy  what  he  requires ;  and  if  the  black  man  wants 
it  he  should  do  the  same.  I  may  say  I  do  not  propose 
that  the  land  should  be  given  to  the  native.  If  he 
occupies  communally  he  must  pay  his  contribution  to  the 
Government,  probably  in  the  form  of  hut  tax  ;  if  he  acquires 
individual  title  to  an  allotment  he  must  pay  quit  rent 
or  an  equivalent.  But  has  the  white  man  always  bought 
the  land  he  owns  and  enjoys  ?  In  the  early  days  large  tracts 
of  land  were  given  out  by  the  Dutch  or  British  Govern- 
ments at  a  nominal  quit  rent  charge  or  carrying  obli- 
gations to  military  service.  The  tracts  were  from 
6000  to  8000  acres  in  extent.  In  many  cases  the  obligations 
have  never  been  fulfilled,  but  the  land  remains  in  the 
hands  of  the  beneficiaries  or  their  descendants,  a  valuable 
patrimony  for  which  nothing  has  been  paid.  Since  those 
times  it  is  true  that  the  Crown  lands  have  been  purchased 
from  the  Government.  But  the  price  has  been  very  low, 
the'terms  very  easy,  and  in  some  cases,  although  contrary 
to  regulation,  native  rents  have  actually  paid  the  instal- 
ments, and  the  purchaser  never  put  his  hands  in  his 
pockets  at  all.     The  landed  estate  of  the  people  of  South 


4. 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  319 

East  Africa,  in  so  far  as  it  lias  been  alienated  to  in- 
dividual Europeans,  leaves  them  little  reasonable  cause 
to  object  to  some  liberality  to  the  native. 

Again  it  will  be  said,  if  the  native  reserves  are  to  be 
closed  to  Europeans  for  all  time,  and  possibly  new  areas 
be  added  to  them,  what  about  the  expansion  of  the  white 
race  ?  Land  hunger,  which  exists  everywhere,  but  which 
is  a  special  feature  of  new  countries,  is  prevalent  in  South 
Africa.  One  after  another,  native  territories  have  been 
taken,  and  now  longing  eyes  are  cast  on  Basutoland  and 
Swaziland,  and  many  express  a  desire  that  these  countries 
should  be  "opened  up".  I  trust  the  sense  of  justice  of 
South  Africa  will  overrule  the  greed  of  those  who  would 
strip  the  native  of  the  little  he  has  left. 

But  indeed,  has  not  the  white  man  alread3^plenty  of  land 
to  give  scope  for  his  expanse  for  many  generations  to  come? 
What  we  want  is  not  more  land  but  the  proper  utilization 
of  the  land  we  have.  We  are  only  just  beginning  to  under- 
stand the  agricultural  possibilities  of  our  country.  The 
high  veldt  of  the  Transvaal  and  Orange  Free  State,  in- 
stead of  being  only  fit  to  carry  a  few  head  of  stock  in 
summer,  has  been  proved  to  be  an  immense  tract  of 
great  agricultural  potentialities.  Not  only  can  cereals  be 
grown  for  export  to  an  extent  never  believed  possible  a 
few  years  back,  but  with  their  growth  and  that  of  winter 
food  the  stock-carrying  capacity  of  the  land  can  be  in- 
creased many  fold.  In  Natal,  on  farms  on  which  a  few 
hundred  head  of  cattle  became  skeletons  in  winter,  the 
cultivation  of  Paspalum  dilitatiim  and  other  grasses  has 
made  it  possible  to  keep  a  beast  in  good  condition 
through  the  winter,  on  an  acre  of  ground.  There  are 
large  areas  fit  for  the  growth  of  the  valuable  wattle  tree 
and  other  exportable  crops  which  are  not  utilized  at  all. 
With  the  discovery  that  the  systematic  dipping  of  cattle 
prevents  many  diseases,  and  with  the  mild  climate  and 
abundance  of  food  all  the  year  round,  the  despised  coast 
may  yet  become  the  best  dairying  country  in  South 
Africa,  vying  in  this  respect  with  Northern  New  South 


320    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

Wales.  The  Thorn  country,  hitherto  almost  useless  to 
Europeans,  has  been  shown  to  be  admirably  suited  to 
ostrich  rearing.  We  do  not  want  more  land  over  which 
to  thinly  spread  as  cattle  ranchers  living  indolent  lives, 
not  more  land  in  which  to  speculate  and  make  fortunes, 
but  closer  settlement  and  intensive  culture  of  what  we 
have  already.  If  never  an  acre  is  added  to  the  land  now 
held  by  Europeans,  there  are  possibilities,  some  beginning 
to  be  realized,  others  still  hidden,  which  will  give  scope 
to  the  energies  and  capital  of  South  Africans  for  many 
generations  to  come. 

The  third  objection  to  my  proposition  is  that  the 
possession  of  a  home  by  the  native  will  prevent  his 
coming  out  to  work  for  the  European,  and  industrial 
development  will  be  retarded.  Quite  possible !  though, 
as  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  native  men  of  the  Transkeian  ter- 
ritories and  Basutoland  are  leaving  their  homes  for  work 
outside,  in  ever-increasing  numbers,  A  comparison  of 
the  proportion  who  do  so  with,  say  Natal,  would  be  mis- 
leading, for  comparatively  few  in  the  Transkei,  and 
practically  none  in  Basutoland,  are  employed  by  white  men 
on  the  spot,  while  in  Natal  the  majority  find  work  near 
their  homes.  Even  if  all  the  natives  of  South  East  Africa 
were  provided  with  sufficient  land  on  which  to  support 
themselves,  a  large  proportion,  as  in  the  Transkei  and 
Basutoland,  would  still  go  out  to  work  for  Europeans. 
But  they  would  not  be  idle  at  home,  and  with  growing 
wants  would  probably  want  work  to  satisfy  them.  It  is 
not  expected  either  that  separation,  though  worked  for  as 
a  definite  end,  is  going  to  segregate  the  races — all  the 
black  on  one  side  of  a  line,  all  the  white  on  another. 
South  Africa  is  based  on  black  labour ;  the  white  man  will 
still  need  the  black  man,  the  latter  will  still  need  to  work 
for  the  European.  We  have  seen  the  eff'ects  of  the 
past  superabundance  of  natives  willing  to  engage  them- 
selves, and  a  cause  which  resulted  in  better  organiza- 
tion, economy  in  hand  labour,  the  employment  of  labour- 
saving  machinery  and   appliances,  the  greater  industry 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  321 

of  the  white  man,  would  not  be  an  economic  misfor- 
tune. 

Having  laid  down  the  three  main  planks  of  the  plat- 
form, I  wish  to  bind  them  by  three  cross-pieces.  These 
are :  (i)  a  measure  of  self-government  in  their  own 
affairs  ;  (2)  literary,  industrial,  and  agricultural  education  ; 
(3)  encouragement  of  religious  and  moral  instruction  by 
the  Missionary  bodies. 

We  have  in  Basutoland  and  the  Transkei  object  lessons 
which  should  enable  us  to  gradually  introduce  measures 
into  other  areas  which  will  give  the  people  some  responsi- 
bility for  their  own  affairs.  We  want,  as  one  of  the  great 
necessities  of  the  case,  to  give  the  Abantu  a  hope  and  in- 
terest in  their  lives,  and  the  opportunity  to  do  so  will  do 
much  to  lift  the  black  shadow  of  apathy  and  indifference 
that  is  now  over  them.  The  responsibility  should  not  be 
thrust  upon  them  ;  let  them  from  experience  elsewhere 
realize  its  value,  and  give  the  privilege  as  they  desired  it 
and  proved  themselves  worthy.  The  method  would  prob- 
ably be  by  the  establishment  of  local  District  Councils 
under  the  direction  and  guidance  of  the  magistrate,  and  de- 
velopment would  work  up  from  that.  Whilst  the  initia- 
tion of  policy  and  the  direction  of  South  African  Native 
Affairs  must  rest  with  the  white  man,  I  want  the  black 
man  to  have  full  opportunity  of  letting  his  rulers  know 
his  desires,  his  satisfactions,  and  his  grievances.  We 
want  to  establish  a  spirit  of  confidence  and  mutual  good 
understanding  between  the  people  and  their  rulers.  I 
therefore  advocate  the  holding  of  an  annual  gathering 
of  the  people  in  each  area,  at  which  they  will  meet  their 
rulers  face  to  face,  and  have  an  opportunity  to  voice  what 
is  in  them.  I  said  in  each  area,  for  I  do  not  propose  that 
there  should  be  South  African  or  even  Provincial  pitsos 
or  gatherings.  The  local  natives  should  hold  their  own, 
and  their  own  administrator  be  present  and  in  charge. 
The  total  results  should  be  collaborated  and  be  fully  con- 
sidered by  the  Council  for  Native  Affairs,  whose  report 
thereon  should  be  laid  before  Government  and  Parliament. 

21 


322    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

With  a  definite  and  understandable  policy  laid  down, 
the  hitherto  somewhat  lukewarm  support  given  to  the 
Missionary  bodies  might  be  replaced  by  a  more  generous 
recognition  of  their  work,  religious  and  educational. 
They  would  have  a  field  in  the  native  areas  in  which, 
under  Government  control,  they  would  have  great  oppor- 
tunities. On  the  religious  side  of  their  work  they  would 
have  a  free  hand  except  that  Government  would  see  that 
the  various  bodies  did  not  overlap  each  other.  At  the 
present  time  this  does  occur,  and  the  results  are  often 
such  as  the  friends  of  Missions  greatly  deplore.  On  the 
educational  side  the  Government  would  control  and 
regulate.  At  the  present,  for  reasons  already  given,  it 
may  not  be  advisable  for  Government  to  open  schools  of 
their  own  ;  as  in  the  past,  they  could  utilize  the  organization 
of  the  Missionary  Societies.  But  with  the  secular  advance 
of  the  people,  their  ability  to  tax  themselves,  among  other 
things  for  all  branches  of  education,  would  develop ;  it  is 
unlikely  that  in  the  future  instruction  will  remain  alto- 
gether in  the  hands  of  the  Missionaries. 

With  such  a  poHcy  adopted,  the  influences  which  are 
at  the  present  time  hurrying  the  black  man  breathlessly 
along  as  he  gets  into  the  whirlpool  of  our  activities,  or 
leaving  him  torpid  and  apathetic,  stranded  in  his  black 
environment,  both  pernicious,  could  be  modified.  The 
former  could  in  part  be  retarded,  the  latter  brightened. 
If  tribal  authority  should  be  retained  in  the  interests  of 
the  governed,  it  could  be  either  kept  intact  or  modified  to 
suit  the  growing  or  altered  needs  of  the  people.  As 
individualism  grew,  so  the  machinery — personal  title  to 
land,  the  right  to  vote  for  representatives  in  the  local 
Council — could  be  gradually  established.  What  I  consider 
great  and  vital  wants  of  the  people  would  be  met ;  both 
the  tribal  and  educated  native  would  have  something  to 
work  for  and  a  hope  in  life.  For  the  former,  improved 
agriculture  and  the  better  material  condition  to  which 
he  could  attain  would  have  something  for  which  he  could 
strive ;  whilst    the   latter  would  have   opportunities    of 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  323 

advancement  in  practical  work  and  life  only  limited  by 
his  own  ability,  and  at  the  same  time  the  added  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  he  was  helping  his  own  people 
along  the  true  path  of  progress.  If  they  could  not  achieve 
the  political  ambitions  on  which  they  have  hitherto  set 
their  minds  they  would  have  openings  in  the  local  Councils 
and  annual  gatherings  to  make  their  influence  felt, 'and  at 
all  times  advise  and  help  those  of  their  own  race  along 
an  unbarred  road.  I  would  give  openings  for  the  boy 
or  girl  of  exceptional  ability  and  industry ;  provide  for 
them  an  honourable  and  useful  career  among  their  own 
folk ;  train  them  as  doctors,  nurses,  teachers. 

Along  this  line  the  most  influential,  and  possibly  the 
wisest  of  the  negro  race  in  the  United  States  is  endeavour- 
ing to  lead  his  people.  He  desires  to  give  them  op- 
portunity in  life,  he  wants  them  to  be  educated  and  capable 
men  and  women,  but  he  recognizes  that  the  true  line  is 
not  by  talk,  agitation,  and  political  excitement,  but  edu- 
cated, hopeful,  ever  advancing  labour,  giving  them  power 
over  the  material  things  of  the  earth.  If  our  advanced 
natives  could  see  the  wisdom  of  this  course  and  devote 
themselves  to  such  work  as  Booker  Washington  is  doing, 
the  outlook  would  be  much  brightened.  It  is  much  to 
ask  of  any  people.  In  the  policy  here  advocated  sacrifices 
are  demanded  from  the  white  man  and  sacrifices  are  asked, 
for  the  sake  of  the  mass  of  his  people,  from  the  educated 
black  man.  It  is  a  great  test  of  the  insight  and  wisdom 
of  a  people  ;  should  they  respond,  a  duty  is  laid  upon  us 
to  see  they  do  not  suffer. 

The  great  and  fundamental  advantage  to  the  Abantu 
would  be  that  his  home  life  and  the  conditions  surround- 
ing him  from  cradle  to  adolescence  would  be  conserved 
as  regards  the  best  traditions  and  customs  of  his  race  in 
the  past ;  that,  as  these  necessarily  changed,  the  best 
wisdom  of  the  Abantu,  guided  by  the  best  the  white  man 
could  give  and  devise,  would  be  directed  to  make  them 
sound  and  healthy.  As  the  old  ancestral  controls  weak- 
ened,  fresh  ones   suitable    to    the    race   and  its  altered 

2 1  * 


324    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

conditions  would  be  gradually  imposed,  but  always  of 
such  a  nature  as  would  tend  to  conserve  the  best  in 
them  and  evolve  the  best  possibilities  at  present  dormant 
in  the  race. 

So  far  for  the  black  man. 

For  the  Asiatic  or  other  races  alien  to  both  Euro- 
peans and  Abantu  we  must  see  to  it  that  their  numbers 
and  our  consequent  race  problems  are  not  made  increas- 
ingly difficult  by  further  immigration.  To  the  desires 
and  difficulties  of  those  at  present  in  the  country  we  must 
be  more  considerate  than  in  the  past,  take  care  that  jeal- 
ousy and  fear  of  the  future  does  not  lead  to  injustice. 

Towards  those  bound  to  us  in  part  by  ties  of  blood 
we  must  take  another  course,  and  face  the  responsibilities 
for  our  own  actions — shall  I  say  our  own  sins.  We  cannot 
bar  their  upward  aspirations,  still  less  can  we  force  them 
back  into  the  black  mass  from  which  they  have  emerged. 
Without  reservations,  mental  or  visible,  we  must  give 
them  opportunities  to  rise,  and  whilst  deprecating  further 
social  intercourse,  confer  on  them  the  opportunities  and 
privileges  of  the  side  of  their  ancestry  to  which  they 
aspire.  This  course  is  both  humane  and  politic,  and  from 
experience  gained  we  may  trust  them  to  respond,  and  be 
true  to  the  privileges  and  responsibilities  conferred  on 
them. 

And  while  carrying  out  this  policy  to  blacks, 
Asiatics,  and  coloured,  we  must  not  forget  our  own 
people.  The  great  danger  to  the  body  politic  from  the 
presence  and  increase  of  the  "  poor  whites "  must  be 
realized  and  fought  against.  With  those  of  adult  age 
steeped  in  indolence  and  ignorance,  little  may  be  possible  ; 
but  much  may  be  accomplished  to  raise  and  make  good 
citizens  of  their  children.  Our  position  in  South  Africa 
is  unique,  and  these  people  are  the  direct  result  of  their 
environment.  For  special  diseases  special  remedies  are 
required.  We  should  not  be  bound  by  sentimentalism,  or 
weakly  consider  precedent  in  such  a  case.  The  report  of 
the  Indigency  Commission  of  the  Transvaal  reveals  such 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  325 

a  tragic  condition  of  affairs  that  we  should  be  prepared 
to  take  heroic  remedies,  and  if  further  investigation  and 
thought  showed  that  the  balance  of  good  lay  in  the 
forcible  separation  of  children  from  degenerate  parents, 
we  should  not  hesitate.  We  cannot  afford  that  the 
future  of  our  race  should  be  jeopardized  by  weakness 
towards  the  unworthy. 

There  is  room  in  South  Africa  only  for  the  best. 
Every  dissolute,  lazy,  incompetent  white  man  is  a  danger 
to  the  race.  Nay  more,  every  white  man  who  does  not 
live  up  to  the  highest  ideals  of  our  race  intensifies  our 
problem.  Consciously,  and  with  due  solemnity.  South 
Africa  should  take  this  to  heart  and  impress  it  on  her 
children.  The  best  and  highest  education  in  its  widest 
sense  should  be  given  to  them,  fitting  them  for  their 
arduous  destiny,  making  them  living  examples  of  all  that 
is  best  to  our  wards.  And  part  of  that  education  should 
be  to  awaken  in  them  a  due  and  full  sense  of  their  responsi- 
bility to  those  entrusted  to  their  hands,  a  responsibility 
instructed  by  definite  teaching  in  the  life  history  of  the 
lower  races. 

Much  thought  and  strenuous  endeavour  have  been 
given  by  the  ablest  in  South  Africa  to  our  economic 
progress,  and  much  has  been  achieved  by  them.  I  appeal 
for  like  thought  and  effort  to  place  on  a  just,  sound,  and 
lasting  foundation  the  relations  of  the  various  races  of 
the  country.  I  desire  such  to  be  so  conceived  that  the 
building  up  of  character,  the  conservation  and  develop- 
ment of  all  that  is  best  in  individual  and  race  life,  shall 
be  the  first  consideration.  This  is  my  policy  for  the 
white  man  towards  his  own  people. 

I  would  that  some  of  those  patriotic  and  far-seeing 
citizens  of  the  Southern  United  States  who  feel  over- 
whelmed by  the  questions  raised  through  the  admixture 
of  races  in  their  own  country,  could  visit  us  and  study 
our  problem  in  its  present  phase  in  the  light  of  their 
own  tragic  experience.  We  know  that  some  of  them, 
full  of  sadness  for  the  fate  of  the  coloured  man  and  of 


326    BLACK  AND  WHITE  IN  SOUTH  EAST  AFRICA 

dubiety  for  the  future  of  their  own  people,  feel  that 
nothing  short  of  the  absolute  segregation  of  the  races 
will  give  permanent  relief  Involved  centuries  of  contact, 
the  sin  of  miscegenation,  the  complete  divorce  of  the  negro 
from  his  old  ancestral  African  life,  have  made  this  solu- 
tion practically  impossible  of  realization.  Our  vaster 
empty  spaces,  the  solidarity  of  the  races,  the  desire  to 
maintain  this  race  integrity  on  both  sides,  would,  I  think, 
constrain  them  to  feel  that  we  had  opportunities,  now 
denied  to  them,  making  them  wonder  that,  for  the  sake 
of  present  ease  and  possible  economic  advantage,  we 
dallied  with  the  question  and  allowed  the  precious  time 
with  its  possibility  of  alleviation  to  pass  by. 

What  the  distant  future  may  have  in  store  for  us  we 
cannot  tell.  Given  fuller  opportunities,  the  black  man 
may  develop  to  a  degree  none  of  us  foresee  and  along 
unexpected  lines.  If  such  is  the  case,  it  may  be  that  in 
time  to  come,  our  increased  ethnic  knowledge  may  prompt 
us  to  desire  closer  relations,  and  the  two  races  together 
may  work  hand  in  hand  and  together  rule  the  land.  I 
have  an  open  mind  on  such  far-off  questions. 

We  want  a  working  hypothesis  and  plan  for  to-day  and 
to-morrow,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  we  have  now  to  choose 
between  the  policies  of  the  converging  or  parallel  lines, 
and  consciously  and  deliberately  choose.  If  we  decide  on 
the  former  we  will  gradually  move  towards  the  junction, 
relations  becoming,  meantime,  more  and  more  strained, 
until  there  is  but  one  stream  of  mingled  black  and  white 
humanity,  struggling  together  in  mutual  animosity  to- 
wards chaos.  If  the  latter,  each  endeavouring  to  live  their 
own  lives  apart  yet  with  strands  running  from  one  line  to 
the  other,  which  though  unavoidable,  may  make  for  help 
and  need  not  then  make  for  conflict,  the  two  main  streams 
may  run  apart  each  in  its  own  channel.  If  accepted  by 
both  races  it  will  demand  sacrifices  from  both,  but  the 
present  tension  may  be  relaxed  and  the  spirit  of  helpful- 
ness on  the  one  side  and  recognition  on  the  other  make 
for  mutual  peace  and  goodwill. 


FOR  THE  FUTURE  327 

For  the  white  man  it  will  mean  much  to  his  inner 
life.  His  position  would  be  made  clear,  his  duty  would 
be  defined.  His  race  integrity  and  ideals,  now  threatened, 
and  causing  him  to  take  repressive  measures  against  his 
instinctive  dislike  to  coercion  and  harshness,  would  be 
preserved  as  far  as  is  possible  under  South  African  condi- 
tions. The  deteriorating  influences  of  race  contact,  though 
not  entirely  removed,  would  be  greatly  minimized.  To 
an  extent  which  depended  on  the  completeness  with 
which  he  carried  the  policy  into  effect  the  present  un- 
wholesome and  degenerative  custom  of  leaving  all  manual 
labour  to  the  black  man  might  be  checked,  and  possibly 
in  time  he  might  accept  for  himself  the  discarded  gospel 
of  the  dignity  of  labour. 

Lastly,  feeling  secure  in  the  position  of  the  ruling  race, 
feeling  the  responsibility  of  being  the  sole  arbiter  in  the 
future  of  the  Abantu,  freed  from  the  dread  that  all  liberal 
treatment,  all  opportunities  for  advancement,  were  only 
bringing  nearer  the  tremendous  issues  of  race  conflict, 
his  conscience,  now  stifled  or  warped,  might  be  given 
fair  play.  His  present  state  of  doubt  is  deplorable,  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation  rules  far  too  much  of  his  life, 
preventing  the  expansion,  and  in  cases  corroding,  the 
best  that  is  in  him.  A  policy  for  the  future  that  will  re- 
move these  fears  and  make  it  clear  that  both  races  may 
have  a  future,  not  indeed  free  from  grave  problems,  but 
not  devoid  of  much  that  is  hopeful,  is  surely  worth 
thought,  effort,  self-sacrifice,  and  restraint  on  the  part  of 
the  race  to  whom  much  has  been  given  and  from  whom 
much  will  be  required. 

May  the  verdict  of  history  be  that  South  Africa  un- 
dertook and  fulfilled. 

VALELISO. 


Emer\'•^\■alkcr  sci 


London,  New  York,  Bombay  &  Calcutta. 


,  .  -,  a  E„,  ..-.,0 "'""r''^''^^'^^    >^  %        -^.        "-" 


^ 


INDEX. 


Abantu  people,  the :  divisions  of, 
23-6 ;  Zulu  and  Basuto  com- 
pared, 24-5  ;  history  of,  42,  43  ; 
language,  36  ;  homes  of,  3,  4, 
23,  24,  26,  47,  131  ;  physical 
standard  of,  6,  27,  28,  56,  93  ; 
fecundity  of,  58,  60,  62,  64  ; 
birth-rate,  61-4  ;  mortality,  63  ; 
and  the  evil  effects  of  civil- 
ization, 55-8  ;  polygamy,  6, 
60-2,  103-4  ;  witchcraft,  72,  74  ; 
life,  before  the  appearance  of  the 
white  man,  106-7,  I54;  ethical 
conceptions,  38  ;  outlook  on  life, 
white  and  native  point  of  view 
contrasted,  32-3,  74,  Tj,  79, 
82-3  ;  a  pastoral  people,  138, 
174-5  ;    w'asteful    agriculturists, 

5,.  115-7,  131-2,    151, .  179  ; 

tribalism  :  67-72,  79  ;  chieftain- 
ship, 70  -  2  ;  explanatory  of 
characteristics,  73-4,  76-8  ;  effect 
of  white  influence  on,  79-83, 
86,  98  ;  deference  to  whites,  34, 
35,  65,  86  ;  relations  with 
coloured  peoples,  298  ;  political 
possibilities  of,  263. 
Characteristics  of,  26,  27,  35,  ■^i^ 
Tl,  80,  114,  139,  163,  178,  188, 
194,  270;  colour  and  physi- 
ognomy, 26-7. 

Adaptability,  56,  158. 

Attachment,  to    home  and  kraal 

life,  3>  139,  .149,  156,  175 ;  to 

tiibe  and  chief,  66. 
Conservatism,  5,  6,  33,  74,  75,  78, 

80-81,  loi,  117,  120,  289. 
Emulation,  absence  of,  74. 
Hospitability,  35,  73. 
Imitative,  74,  179. 
Impenetrability,  12-13. 
Indolence,  175. 


Abantu      people,      characteristics      of 

{C07lt.) — 

Law-abiding,  38,  40,  •j'^,. 

Mental  capacity,  78,  93,  115  ;  in- 
telligence of  children,  36  ;  sus- 
pension of  mental  powers  at 
adolescence,  36,  -n  ;  expression, 
power  of,  31,  267-8;  a  native 
lawsuit  described,  31-2. 

Obsei-vation,  powers  of,  36. 

Persistence,  6,  56. 

Philosophic,  '},''),  112,  178. 

Procrastination,  139. 

Self-reliance,  lack  of,  188. 

Standard  of  morals,  76,  1 1 1. 

Stubborn  :  dead  weight  of  opposi- 
tion, 178. 

Subconsciousness,  12-13,  76. 

Suffering,  indifference  to,  35,  T^. 

Trustworthiness,  40,  158,  166. 

Uncomplaining,  158,  178,  210. 

Unthriftiness,  139,  163,  279. 
Adams,  Sir  Hamilton  Goold,  cited,  141. 
Addison,  Col.  Friend,  cited,  181. 
Administration  :  difficulties  of  native 
government,  311  ;  principles  of 
early  lawgivers,  241-3,  275  ; 
separation  of  tribes  and  security 
of  peace,  241-2  ;  personal 
government,  241-2  ;  former  ac- 
cessibility of  administrators, 
186;  elimination  of  personal 
rule,  186-91  ;  difficulty  of  access 
to  Secretaiy  for  Native  Affairs, 
186,  188,  190,  193  ;  absence  of 
pro\asion  for  making  laws  known 
to  native,  1S7,  193,  246,  248  ; 
indifference  to  native  affairs, 
14,  239,  240,  243-4,  246,  263-4, 
269  ;  independent  religious  or- 
ganization discouraged,  89-90  ; 
complaints  of  natives,  41,  193-4, 


329 


330 


INDEX 


ig6  ;  native  ideas  on  Govern- 
ment, 105,  i8g-go,  245  ;  vested 
powers  of  1887  retracted  by 
Parliament  (1891),  246,  248. 
Natal  Native  Commission,  cited, 
41,  105,  199;  cjuoted,  189-96, 
244-9  •  natives  are  being  over- 
administered,  246  ;  Parliament 
an  oligarchy,  246,  248  ;  effect  of 
partial  and  ill-considered  legis- 
lation, 248  ;  our  form  of  demo- 
cratic representative  Govern- 
ment not  suited  to  the  natives, 
243,  246-7  ;  failure  to  com- 
prehend our  political  system, 
247,  270  ;  recommendations  of, 
191,245,247. 
Necessity  of  study  of  past  history, 
191  ;  importance  of  personal 
rule,  190-2,  194,  244,  247,  259, 
270  ;  delegation  of  Parliament- 
ary powers,  244-9,  3'°»  3^2, 
313  ;  precedents  for,  247-8  ; 
method  of  government  of  Egypt 
and  India,  cited,  239-40,  244  ; 
native  affairs  and  party  politics, 
244  ;  some  reforms  instituted, 
191,  249  ;  Native  Administra- 
tion Act,  10,  II  ;  for  the  future, 
310-18  ;  a  measure  of  self- 
government,  321-2  ;  white  must 
govern,  262,  310-11,  317; 
policy  in  Basutoland,  10 1,  250- 
I  ;  Cape  Colony,  142-3,  252-3, 
255  ;  Natal,  89,  187,  241-g; 
Transkei,  123-4,  256-7  ;  prin- 
ciples from  various  policies,  277. 

Africa,  see  South  East  Africa. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
87  ;  policy  of,  88  ;  disclaims 
politics,  88  ;  The  Voice  of  Mis- 
sions, 88. 

African  problem,  the,  7. 

Agricultural  labour,  see  under  Labour. 

Agriculture  :  native,  and  agricultural 
education,  11 5-19;  wasteful 
methods,  131-2  ;  151,  1 53,  I79  ; 
mealies  exported,  44,  116,  119; 
cotton  crops  suggested,  119; 
native  produce,  174;  number 
of  implements  in  possession  of 
natives,  census  of  Natal  quoted 
as  to,  175  ;  the  Rev.  J.  Dube's 


school,  118;  suggestions,  117- 
19  ;  successful  in  Basutoland, 
148.  European,  164  ;  and  ag- 
ricultural possibilities,  319-20  ; 
a7td  sec  U7idcr  Farming. 

Amabaca  (clan),  23,  43,  259. 

Amahlangweni  (tribe),  23,  43. 

Amakolwa  (mission  natives),  84,  103, 
104,294. 

Amaleita  gangs  (hooligans),  278,   279. 

Amapondo  Kaffirs,  23. 

Amaxesibi  (tribe),  23. 

Amazulu,  the,  23. 

America,  North,  pioneer  life  in,  cited, 
219;  emigration  of  natives  to 
the  United  States,  94,  113. 

America,  Southern  States  of  the 
Union  :  colour  problem,  cited, 
202,  231,  325  ;  "mean  whites" 
of,  220,  279-80  ;  the  franchise, 
264  ;  delegates  from,  invited  to 
study  native   problem,  325. 

American  Zulu  Mission  in  Natal,  92, 
104,  143  ;  opening  of  a  new 
school,  92-4. 

Arabs,  see  Asiatics. 

Armstrong,  George  S.,  cited,  181. 

Asiatics  :  problem  of,  has  not  received 
much  serious  attention,  283  ; 
and  coloured  people,  Hne  of 
cleavage,  284,  294 ;  Indian 
immigration,  159,  285-6,  290; 
effect  of,  on  Europeans,  287  ; 
as  affecting  the  native  question, 
287-8;  characteristics  and  condi- 
tion of  the  Indian,  288-90,  292-3; 
effect  of,  on  the  native,  289-90  ; 
Arabs  (Bombay  traders),  81, 
290 ;  viewed  with  disfavour, 
291-2  ;  restrictive  legislation  as 
to,  286,  293  ;  representation, 
293-5  ;  need  for  greater  pro- 
tection of,  293  ;  suggestions  re- 
garding, 294-5  ;  for  the  future, 

324- 
Attitude  of  native  :  difficulty  of  gaug- 
ing, 13,  17,  71  ;  no  regular 
method  by  which  we  may  learn 
native  feeling,  185,  186,  192  ; 
native  newspapers,  185  ;  chan- 
nels for  expression  of  native 
opinion  in  Transkei,  185  ;  in 
Basutoland,    186 ;    former    ac- 


INDEX 


331 


cessibility  of  administrators, 
186  ;  disappearance  of  patri- 
archal association,  186;  diffi- 
culty of  access  to  Secretary  for 
Native  Affairs,  186,  188,  190, 
193  ;  native  ideas  on  Govern- 
ment, 189-90,  245  ;  idea  of 
relation  to  Government,  land 
question,  131,  137  ;  loss  of  con- 
fidence in  Government,  105, 
189,  191  ;  Natal  Rebellion, 
i8g  ;  complaints  of  natives,  41, 
193-7  ;  underlying  note  of,  195  ; 
desire  to  be  let  alone,  134,  195, 
204,  205  ;  independence  in 
religious  matters,  90-1,  204-5  ; 
Natal  Native  Commission  Re- 
port quoted,  195  ;  the  franchise, 
262-5  ;  back  to  the  land,  desire 
of  native,  149,  150,  153  ;  edu- 
cated native  and  equality  of 
opportunity,  197-205,  264  ;  the 
inequality  of  race,  198  ;  the  al- 
truism of  the  white,  201-2,  264- 
5  ;  Southern  United  States, 
cited,  202-3  ;  attitude  to  forced 
labour,  130,  134  ;  deference  to 
whites,  34,  35,  65,  86. 
Australian  aborigine,  the,  55,  56. 

Babango,  district  of,  45. 

Bacas,  the,  23,  43,  259. 

Balfour,  Prof  Henry,  cited,  42. 

Barnett,  P.  A.,  Superintendent  of 
Education  in  Natal,  quoted, 
native  servants,  229  ;  education, 
235  ;  cited,  half-castes,  301. 

Basuto-Bechuana,  23-5. 

Basuto — 

Distribution  of  the  people,  23, 
25  ;  united  in  one  nation  under 
Moshesh,  25  ;  compared  with 
Zulu,  26  ;  less  aggressive  than 
Zulu,  43. 

Basutoland — 

Early  history  :  native  struggles 
for  independence,  249  ;  natural 
conditions  of  the  country,  25, 
146  ;  compared  with  the  Trans- 
kei,  146-7  ;  birthrate  in,  64. 
French  Protestant  Mission, 
loo-i  ;  missionaries  and  govern- 
ment co-operation,  100-1,250; 


results  of  missionary  effort,  loi  ; 
Lord  Selborne  quoted  on  Ba- 
sutos'  desire  to  be  let  alone,  205. 
Land  question,  140,  146  ;  area 
and  population  of  native  reserv- 
ations, 140,  146  ;  small  num- 
ber of  whites,  48  ;  land  held 
under  tribal  system,  146;  suc- 
cess of  land  tenure  system,  147  ; 
imports,  147  ;  and  exports,  147- 
8  ;  considerable  agricultural 
success,  148  ;  Sir  Godfrey  Lag- 
den  quoted,  147-8  ;  labour  for 
Europeans,  320  ;  hut  tax,  250  ; 
,  progress  and  prosperity,  101-2, 
250-1  ;  financial  independence 
of,  250  ;  Administration,  policy 
of  the  Imperial  Government, 
loi,  250-1.  National  Council, 
251;  tribal  government,  250; 
power  of  chiefs,  69. 

Bechuanas,  23-5. 

Bechuanaland,  140-1. 

Area  and  population  of  native 
reservations,  1 40  ;  water  supply, 
140-1. 

Behaviour  of  natives,  48,  49,  104. 

Birthrate,  the  diminishing,  of  Euro- 
peans, 58,  59,  208  ;  Abantu 
fecundity,  58,  61-4  ;  virility  of 
the  Boers,  59-60. 

Boers,  the,  see  under  Dutch. 

Boksburg,  45. 

Bombay  traders,  see  under  Asiatics. 

Bridgman,  the  Rev.  F.  B.,  of  the 
American  Zulu  Mission,  143, 
257. 

Bryce,  James,  quoted,  279. 

Burton,  The  Hon.  H.,  cited,  143. 

Bushmen,  the,  42  ;  wall  paintings  of, 
42 ;  enmity  of  the  Abantu,  42,  43. 

Cape  Colony  :  the  1820  settlers,  209  ; 
birthrate  of  natives  in,  64  ;  cattle 
stealing  Acts  of,  "j"]  ;  geo- 
graphical distribution  of  the 
people  of,  251.  Land  question 
in,  140-4;  population  and  area 
of  native  reservations,  140,  141, 
146;  policy  of  Cape  Govern- 
ment, 141-4  ;  discouragement 
of  communal  tenure,  252  ;  modi- 
fied European  system,  141,  147, 


332 


INDEX 


254  ;  main  features  of  scheme, 
253-4,  256  ;  experiments  near 
Lovedale,  254  ;  the  Glengrey 
Act,  254  ;  Commission  on  In- 
dividual Land  Tenure,  Report 
of  April,  1910,  cited,  143,  254  ; 
land  purchase  outside  Govern- 
ment reserves,  144  ;  partnership 
system,  144  ;  native  servants  on 
farms,  144;  private  locations, 
141,  144;  urban  locations,  145. 
Administration  of,  main  features 
of  policy,  252-3,  255  ;  self- 
government  in,  142-3,  252  ; 
declining  power  of  native  chiefs, 
251  ;  the  franchise  in,  237-8, 
252,  261  ;  small  number  of 
native  voters,  238,  261,  270  ; 
parallel  in  Jamaica,  262  ;  pro- 
gress of  natives  in,  255.  Edu- 
cation, liberal  policy  in  regard 
to,  in,  252,  255  ;  missions,  en- 
couragement of,  in,  255  ;  num- 
ber of  white  children  without 
school  instruction  or  occupa- 
tion, 235  ;  the  Cape  coloured 
people,  296-7  ;  a7td  see  U7ider 
Transkeian  Territories. 

Capetown — 

coloured  population  of,  296. 

Cattle  raising:  native  methods,  138, 
212-13  ;  milking,  212;  the  possi- 
bilities of  S.  E.  Africa,  319  ; 
cattle  and  stock  in  possession 
of  natives,  175. 

Census  of  Natal,  quoted,  174-5. 

Cetywayo,  5,  Ti,. 

Chiefs,  power  of,  70-1,  72,  78-9;  re- 
commiCndations  as  to  education 
of  sons  of,  1 13. 

Churches  in  South  Africa,  87-9,  91. 

Church  of  England  in  South  Africa, 
87,  88  ;  the  Order  of  Ethiopia, 
88. 

Civilization  and  the  Abantu,  55-6. 

Climate,  22,  24,  25,  146;  effect  on 
Europeans,  52-5,  214. 

Clothing  and  the  native,  57,  130. 

Coloured    peoples  :    of  Cape    Colony, 
296-7;  of  Natal,  298-9  ;  census 
of,  298  ;  education,  299  ;  status 
of,  298. 
Cape  Boys,  298. 


Coloured  peoples  {cant.) — 

Mauritians,  298-9,  308. 

St.  Helenas,  298,  308. 

Half-castes,    299-301,  324. 

See  also  Asiatics. 
Communal  tenure,  see  Land. 
Complaints  of  natives,  41,  193-4,  196. 
Congregational    Union    of  S.    Africa, 

199. 
Cotton    crops,    introduction     of    sug- 
gested, 1 19. 
Crime,  39,  230-1,  255. 

Debt,  the  native  view  of,  68-9. 

Definition  of  "native,"  302-7. 

Democratic  Government,  243,  311. 

Dingaan,  70,  127. 

Dinuzulu,  66. 

Disease  and  the  decline  of  native 
races,  56-8,  64. 

Domestic  service,  156-8,  166;  evils 
of,  166-7,  229-30;  female  serv- 
ants the  exception,  166. 

Drakensberg  Mountains,  22-3. 

Drew,  The  Hon.  Dewdney,  cited,  141. 

Drink  and  the  decline  of  native  races, 
56,  57- 

Dube,  The  Rev.  John,  educational 
work  of,  cited,  1 1 8. 

Dugmore,  Mr.,  quoted  in  description 
of  a  native  lawsuit,  31. 

Durban  :  European  aspect  of;  con- 
trast of  black  and  white  in,  2-4  ; 
II,  43,  135,  169,  et  passim; 
native  families  living   in,    149. 

Dutch,  the  :  immigration  of,  127,  217- 
8  ;  pioneer  life,  217  ;  Republics, 
237;  the  Grondwet,  and  absolute 
governance  of  the  white  man, 
237,  241  ;  patriarchal  relations 
with  natives,  50,  127  ;  manage- 
ment of  natives  compared  with 
British  methods,  44-5,  48-51, 
127;  high  standard  of  morals, 
218;  simplicity  of  life  of,  59, 
60  ;  virility  of,  59,  217  ;  modern 
influences,  46,  60 ;  farmers  of 
the  high  veldt,  47,  53  ;  of  upper 
Zululand,  44,  45,  and  the  bush 
veldt,  48  ;  the  bywoner,  46  ;  the 
poor  Dutch,  46-7,  219. 

Dwane,  the  Rev.  J.  M.,  secession  from 
the  Wesleyans,  88. 


INDEX 


333 


East  Coast  fever,  119,  138. 

Education  :  missionary  effort,  92,  97, 
100,  loi  ;  Government  apathy 
toward  native,  97,  118,  196,  255  ; 
opposition  to  native,  106  ;  native 
desire  for,  114,  196;  popular 
generalizations  regarding  mis- 
sion native,  103,  104  ;  too  little 
attention  paid  to  manners,  102  ; 
intelligence  of  children,  36  ; 
mental  powers  at  age  of  adoles- 
cence, 36-7  ;  Mr.  E.  B.  Sargant, 
cited,  37-8  ;  not  suited  to  re- 
quirements of  natives,  114,  115  ; 
and  race  character,  112;  higher 
education,  113;  recommenda- 
tions regarding  native,  113-5, 
117  ;  recommendations  of  South 
African  Native  Commission, 
no  ;  and  of  Natal  Native  Com- 
mission, 114;  agricultural 
training  as  a  factor  in  solution 
of  native  problem,  1 1 5-7  ; 
schools  of  agriculture,  1 17-1 19  ; 
industrial  training,  120-3,  151  ; 
recommendations  regarding 
white,  234-5  ;  ratio  of  white 
and  coloured  receiving,  235  ; 
increase  in  number  of  whites 
receiving,  Mr.  P.  A.  Barnett, 
quoted,  235  ;  white  children 
receiving  no  instruction,  num- 
ber of,  Mr.  K.  A.  Hobart 
Houghton,  cited,  235-6  ;  nurs- 
ing of  white  children  by  native 
boys,  effect  on  development, 
229-230 ;  separate  schools  for 
coloured  people,  299 ;  liberal 
policy  of  Cape  Government, 
252,  255  ;  in  the  future,  279, 
322-3. 

Edwards,  Mrs.,  of  the  Inanda 
Mission  Station,  92. 

Emigration  of  natives  to  the  United 
States,  94,  113;  provision  for 
higher  education  as  a  counterac- 
tive to,  1 13. 

Environment  :  effect  of,  on  whites  in 
South  East  Africa,  206  ;  easy 
conditions  of  life  tending  to 
moral  and  physical  deteriora- 
tion, 159-61,  206-11,  214, 
222,  232-4,  281  ;  skilled  labour 


of  the  artisans  the  only  work 
habitually  undertaken  by  the 
white  man,  206  ;  manual  labour 
considered  derogatory,  207, 
215  ;  the  essential  Kaffir,  157-8, 
210-11,275;  the  Kaffir  sets  the 
pace ;  effect  on  an  industry, 
212-3  ;  exploitation  of  the 
native,  48,  211,  240;  influence 
of  climatic  conditions,  52-5  ; 
214  ;  immigration  and  miscege- 
nation, 2 1 6-7,  222-3  ;  the  "  poor 
whites,"  the  direct  result  of  en- 
vironment, 46-7,  219-22,  279, 
281,  324  ;  on  farmers  of  British 
descent,  222  ;  effect  of,  on  family 
life,  229-30 ;  carelessness  of 
parents,  229  ;  assault  and  rape, 
230-1  ;  assimilation  of  Abantu 
race  characteristics,  231-2  ; 
white  Kaffirs,  291-2  ;  educa- 
tional deficiencies,  234-6  ;  basic 
rearrangement  regarding  la- 
bour essential,  206,  215;  the 
present  tendency,  281-2  ;  for  the 
future,  234-5. 

Ermelo  district,  47. 

Ethiopia,  the  Order  of,  see  latder 
Church  of  England. 

"Ethiopians,"  89. 

Eugenics,  207-8. 

European  Native  Affairs  Council, 
295. 

Evolution  :  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
21. 

Exempted  natives,  84-5,  103,  242. 

Farming,  44,  47,  48  ;  average  size 
of  farms,  44. 

Farm  labour,  see  under  Labour. 

Female  labour,  100,  167,  174;  female 
domestics  the  exception,  166. 
Cotton  crops  and  emplojTnent, 
119. 

Fingoes,  Kaffirs,  23,  256. 

Food,  72,,  158. 

Franchise,  the,  237-8,  260-1,  304-5  ; 
small  number  of  native  voters 
in  Cape  Colony,  261-2  ;  objec- 
tions to  extension  of,  262-7  ; 
South  African  Native  Commis- 
sion, quoted,  263,  265  ;  in  early 
policy  of  Natal,  242  ;  the  native 


334 


INDEX 


and,    270-2  ;     Lord    Selborne, 

quoted  on  test  for,  272-4,  307-8  ; 

the  future,  280. 
French-Canadians,  cited,  59. 
French    Protestant  Mission,  see  Paris 

Evangelical  Mission. 
Fusionism,  277,  297. 

Gaikas  (tribe),  43. 

Gcalekas  (tribe),  43. 

Germiston  (town),  45. 

Glengrey  Act,  254. 

Government:  native  ideas  on,  105,  131, 

137,      189-91,     245,     a7id    see 

Administration. 
Great  Britain,  noble  families  of,  cited, 

207. 
Griqualand  East,  23,  48,  99,  129,  224. 
Gumede,  Posselt,  of  Natal  Commission 

to  Transkei,  1908,  143,  257. 

Haiti,  cited  ;  negroes  and  religion,  91. 
Half-castes,       see      under      headin^i^ 

Coloured  peoples. 
Hlangweni  (tribe),  23,  43. 
Hlubi,  Basuto  chief,  23. 
Holden,  the  Rev.  W.  C,  "  The  Past  and 

Future    of   the   Kaffir   Races," 

quoted,  31. 
Hooliganism,  278-9. 
Houghton,  K.  A.  Hobart,  of  Lovedale, 

quoted,  235. 
Huguenots,  the,  cited,  217. 
Hutchinson,   Sir  Walter  Hely,  quoted, 

on  the  "  poor  whites,"  221. 
Huts,  Basuto  and  Zulu  compared,  26. 
Hut  tax,  63,  130,  137,  144,  250. 

Immorality,   58,   103,  224-5,  230-1, 

279,  280. 
Inanda  :    Mission  reserve,  92  ;    native 

location,  4,  25. 
Indian  immigration,  see  laider  Asiatics. 
Individual  tenure,  see  Land. 
Industrial  competition,  fear  of,   120-3, 

279-81. 
Industrial  training,  120-1,  151. 
International  Commission  to  investigate 

relations   of  black   and    white, 

suggested,  10. 
Intoxicants,    56,    57  ;    illicit    trade    in, 

_  225-7. 
Islamism  and  the  Abantu,  1 1 1. 


Jamaica  :  cited,  negroes  and  re- 
ligion, 91  ;  small  number  of 
native  voters  in,  262. 

Johannesburg,  11,  46,  135,  231,  et 
pas  si  711. 

Johnstone,  Sir  H.  H.,  cited,  262. 

Kaffir  truck,  81  ;  storekeeping,  290-2. 

Kalahari  desert,  42. 

Keane,  Dr.  A.  H.,  cited,  37. 

Kei,  river,  123. 

Kitchen- Kaffir  (patois),  51. 

Krugersdorp,  45. 

Labour  :  distinction  between  white 
and  Kaffir  work,  154-6,  206-7, 
215;  demand  for,  154,  158; 
labour  intermittent,  156,  175-6; 
nostalgia,  3,  156,  175;  native 
ideas  on,  160  ;  great  waste  of, 
159-64,  168-9,  ^To'y  abundance 
of,  retards  use  of  labour-saving 
appliances,  164,  173  ;  anomalies 
of,  1 59-62  ;  singular  position 
in  Natal,  159;  absence  of 
supervision  and  proper  instruc- 
tion, 157,  164;  manner  of 
dealing  with  the  native,  165-6  ; 
absence  of  inducement  to  im- 
prove, 165  ;  domestic  service, 
156-8,  166;  evils  of  domestic 
labour,  166-7,  229-30 ;  female 
servants  the  exception,  166 ; 
agricultural  labour,  164 ;  con- 
dition of  natives  on  farms  of 
Europeans,  135  ;  low  wages 
compared  with  amount  earned 
in  towns,  135  ;  demoralizing 
systems  of,  136,  162-3  '■>  ^-^^ 
periments  with  farm  labour 
on  European  lines,  136-7  ; 
ricksha-boys,  168  ;  togt  boys, 
1 69 ;  on  the  Witwatersrand, 
1 70- 1  ;  increased  demands  for, 
since  the  deportation  of  Chinese, 
171  ;  disingenuous  employers, 
1 7 1-2  ;  better  conditions  neces- 
sary, 172  ;  Randt  labour  agents, 
173  ;  demoralizing  influence  of 
agents,  173  ;  gold  industry  and 
other  employers  of  labour  172- 
3  ;  improved  quality  of  labour, 
180  ;     causes     of     scarcity    of 


INDEX 


335 


labour,  173;  remedies:  break 
up  of  locations  suggested,  176-7, 
taxation  ;  forced  labour,  177-8  ; 
objections  to,  178-80;  the  true 
remedies,  181  ;  more  induce- 
ments to  efficiency,  181  ;  ap- 
prenticeship advocated,  18 1-2  ; 
facilities  for  rapid  transfer  and 
improved  conditions,  151;  er- 
roneous views  as  to  cheap 
labour,  182  ;  reorganization  and 
economic  readjustment,  182-3  ! 
probable  effect  of  a  liberal  land 
policy  on,  320  ;  forced  (Govern- 
ment) labour,  130,  134;  "Oc- 
cupations of  the  people,"  Natal 
census  quoted,  174-5  !  female 
labour,  100,  167,  174  ;  absence 
of  white  manual  labourers,  207  ; 
an  organization  to  encourage 
white  labour  formed,  214-5  5 
immigration  of  Europeans  for, 
impolitic,  216  ;  white  unskilled, 
221  ;  fear  of  industrial  competi- 
tion of  black  and  white,  120-3, 
279-81 ;  \w?igts,see underWa.^&s. 

Lagden,  Sir  Godfrey,  cited,  64,  249- 
50  ;  quoted,  loi,  147-8. 

Land  question  {a?id  see  headings 
Locations  and  Reserves) :  his- 
tory, 126-9  ;  land  hunger,  128, 
319  ;  congestion,  130-1,  140, 
148  ;  problem  not  confined  to 
Natal,  129,  140;  complicated 
by  characteristics  of  the  people, 
138-40;  aggravated  by  pur- 
chase for  closer  settlement  and 
transfer.  Crown  lands,  138-9  ; 
Natal  Native  Commission,  cited, 
139;  a  Government  dilemma, 
1 39  ;  native  view  as  to  land,  131, 
133,  134,  137  ;  white  views  con- 
trasted, 133  ;  white  ideal  :  bene- 
ficial occupation,  134-5,  319  ; 
land  in  Natal  held  by  Europeans, 
133  ;  areas  privately  purchased 
by  natives,  130,  133  ;  Crown 
lands  :  best  acquired  by  Euro- 
peans, 132,  318  ;  natives  on, 
130,  132  ;  rent,  132  ;  purchased 
by  natives,  132-3  ;  non-occupied 
farms,  133-4,  317  ;  high  rents, 
134)  137?  278  ;  white  disfavour 


to,  134  ;  terms  of  agreement,  oc- 
cupied farms,  135,  317  ;  dislike 
of  written  contracts,  135  ;  condi- 
tions and  difficulties,  occupied 
farms,  136,  241,  278-9  ;  experi- 
ments on  European  lines,  137  ; 
difficulty  of  collection  of  rents, 
137-8  ;  security  of  tenure  essen- 
tial, a  white  view,  148  ;  Indi- 
vidual title,  132,  148  ;  as  a 
remedy,  152-3;  contrary  to 
native  ideas,  152,  153;  must 
be  watched,  152-3;  success  of 
inTranskei,  152  ;  recommenda- 
tion of  Natal  Native  Commission 
regarding,  152;  Communal 
system  :  success  in  Basutoland, 
cited,  148  ;  improvement  of  the 
land  as  a  factor  in  native 
problem,  1 16;  Bechuanaland, 
possibilities  of,  140- i;  back  to 
the  land,  desire  of  the  Abantu, 
149,  150,  153;  importance  of 
conserving  attachment  to  the 
land,  116,  1 50- 1,  153;  South 
African  Native  Affairs  Com- 
mission, quoted,  on  native  land 
purchase,  3 1 4-6  ;  white  man 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  land, 
319-20;  for  the  future,  liberal 
land  policy  necessary,  314, 
316-20;  land  question  in 
Basutoland,  140,  146,  147  ;  in 
Cape  Colony,  140-4,  146,  147, 
252-4,  256. 

Language,  36,  51,  93  ;  language  diffi- 
culty, 51-2,  157. 

Legislature,  the,  and  native  law,  248. 

Le  Roy,  the  Rev.  Mr.,  of  the  American 
Zulu  Mission,  104. 

Liquor,  see  u?ider  Intoxicants. 

Locations :  {and  see  heading  Re- 
serves) ;  population  and  area  of, 
129-30,  140-1,  14s,  251,  278  ; 
natural  conditions  of,  129  ;  con- 
ditions of  tenure,  130  ;  life  in, 
1 30  ;  provision  of,  by  early  ad- 
ministrators, 241  ;  native  view 
that  locations  are  overcrowded, 
1 30- 1,  151;  urban  locations, 
144-5  ;  private  locations,  145  ; 
break-up  of,  for  labour  purposes, 
considered,  176-7. 


136 


INDEX 


Lovedale,  experiments  in  land  tenure 
near,  254. 

Lutuli,  Martin  N.,  of  Natal  Commis- 
sion to  Transkei,  1908,  143,257. 

Lydenburg,  145. 

Mahometanism  and  the  Abantu,  in. 

Management  and  treatment  of  natives, 
Dutch  and  British  methods 
compared,  44-5,  48-51,  127. 

Maories,  the,  cited,    27,   55,  56,    268. 

Maputa,  the,  18. 

Marianhill,  Roman  Catholic  Mission 
station,  gg,  100. 

Marriage  of  black  with  white,  practice 
of  early  settlers,  224,  2g9  ;  and 
see  Miscegenation. 

Mealie  cultivation,  44,  116,  119. 

Melmoth,  town,  45. 

Milner,  Lord,  37,  250. 

Miscegenation,  216,  218,  222-5,  280, 
284,  296,  2g8-304  ;  position  of 
children,  223-4 ;  Dutch  and 
British  attitude,  218,  223,  224  ; 
recommendation  of  the  Natal 
Native  Commission,  225. 

Mission  reserves,  132. 

Missions  and  Missionary  work  {see 
also  Education)  :  history,  99  ; 
progress,  101-2  ;  American  Zulu 
Mission,  92,  104,  143  ;  scene 
at  opening  of  a  new  school, 
92-4  ;  Paris  Evangelical  (French 
Protestant)  Mission,  loo-i  ; 
Roman  Catholic  Stations,  99  ; 
Marianhill,  100;  missionaries 
and  the  native  problem,  7,  8  ; 
and  disintegration  of  tribal  life, 
84-5,  98  ;  missionary  and  other 
influences  contrasted,  gS-g  ; 
value  of,  as  a  factor  in  native 
problem,  g8,  io8-g,  iio-ii; 
the  ideal  of  the  missionary,  8, 
g5,  g6,  204  ;  partial  success  only 
to  be  expected,  95  ;  primary  im- 
portance of  character  building, 
96,  99,  1 10  ;  recognition  of,  and 
conservation  of  good  in  old  life 
of  natives,  96,  gg  ;  progress  by 
adaptation  to  black  man's  needs 
rather  than  by  imitation,  96,  gg  ; 
growing  recognition  of  the  wider 
basis  of  work,    7,    8,    97,   99 ; 


South  African  Native  Commis- 
sion quoted  in  support  of,  1 10  ; 
native  confidence  in  mission- 
aries, 105-6  ;  false  generaliza- 
tions regarding,  102-5,  n'  ; 
the  Amakolwa  or  Christian 
natives,  84,  100,  102-5  !  iri  edu- 
cation, 97,  no;  overlapping  of 
work,  322  ;  successful  work 
among  Basutos,  loo-i  ;  en- 
couragement of,  in  Basutoland, 
250 ;  in  Cape  Colony,  252, 
255;  Islamism,  in;  for  the 
future,  322. 

Mont  aux  Sources,  25. 

Morgen,  a  (2^  acres),  140. 

Moshesh,  Basuto  chief,  25,  43,  100. 

Mozambique,  170. 

Natal  :  physical  features  of,  22  ; 
immigration  of  white  people,  5, 
80  ;  immigrants  of  1850,  209  ; 
population  of,  2,  43,  63,  130  ; 
birth-rate  and  mortality,  63  ; 
population,  distribution  of,  44, 
251  ;  standard  of  living,  44; 
wages  (Europeans),  43  ;  agri- 
culture in,  44  ;  agricultural 
possibilities  of,  319-20.  Educa- 
tion :  number  of  white  children 
without  school  instruction,  236. 
Labour,  singular  position  in 
Natal,  1 59  ;  domestic  service  in, 
1 56-8,  166  ;  evils  of,  166-7,  229- 

30.  Land  question  in  :  history, 
126-9  ;    native    locations,     129- 

31,  140,251  ;  mission  reserves, 
132  ;  Crown  lands,  132-3  ;  ac- 
quirement of  land  by  private 
purchase,  133  ;  non-occupied 
farms,  1 33-4  ;  occupied  farms, 
135-6,  241  ;  natives  working  in 
urban  areas,  144  ;  Government 
deputation  to  Transkei  regard- 
ing, 143,  257  ;  Administration, 
principles  of  early  lawgivers, 
241-3;  responsible  government 
(1893),  187  ;  native  law,  69,  "j"], 
187  ;  native  preaching,  89  ;  pre- 
sent neglect  of  native  affairs,  14, 
239,  240,  243-4,  263,  269  ;  de- 
legation of  Parliamentary 
powers    recommended :     Natal 


INDEX 


337 


Native  Commission  report, 
quoted,  244-9  5  power  of  native 
chiefs    in,    69 ;    miscegenation, 

224  ;  definition  of  "  Native," 
302-3  ;  Indian  immigration,  285- 
94,  and  see  Asiatics  ;  coloured 
people  and  half-castes,  298-301. 

Natal :  census  quoted,  Occupations  of 
the  natives,  174-5. 

Natal :  Legislative  Assembly  and 
Council  of,  13,  244. 

"  Natal  Mercury,"  quoted  on  native 
liquor  question,  226. 

Natal  Native  Commission,  1906,  xi  ; 
Report  of,  1 1  ;  quoted  on  :  na- 
tive preaching,  89  ;  exempted 
natives,  103;  education,  114; 
land  tenure,  139,  152;  ad- 
ministration, 41,  105,  189-91, 
192-6,  199,  244-9  5  causes  of 
rebellion  of  1906,  189  ;  im- 
morality, 225  ;  tribalism,  82  ; 
powers  of  chiefs,  252-3  ;  re- 
presentation, 268  ;  definition 
of  "  Native,"  303,  305-6. 

Natal  Native  Council,  92. 

Natal  Native  Trust,  129,  132. 

Natal  Rebellion,  1906,  11,  189; 
causes  leading  up  to,  185-9  ! 
Native  Commission  Report, 
quoted,  184-91. 

Nathan,  Sir  Matthew,  9,  118;  sug- 
gests International  Commis- 
sion, 10. 

Native  Administration  Act  of  1909, 
xii,  10,  II. 

Native  affairs.  Committees  for  the 
study  of  formed,  1 1  ;  Depart- 
ment, 186;  Secretary  for,  186, 
245. 

Native  churches,  87-9,  91. 

Native,  exploitation  of  the,  48,  211,  240. 

Native  law  :  69,  ■]■],  84,  145,  168-9,  1^7) 
248  ;    as    to    intoxicants,    199, 

225  ;  complaints  of  natives 
regarding,  41,  193-4,  196  ; 
disabilities  of,  187,  197,  199, 
304-5  ;  the  Legislature,  and, 
248  ;  anomalous  position  of 
half-castes,  300-9  ;  definition 
of  "native,"  302-7. 

Native  life  :  before  the  advent  of  the 
white  man,  106,  1 54  ;  and  at  pre- 

22 


sent,  107;  in  early  years  of  white 
man's  Government,  126-7  ;  im- 
migration of  whites  and  depriva- 
tion of  land,  128  ;  commercial 
relations  succeed  the  patri- 
archal, 128  ;  shaken  confidence 
in  Government  and  Europeans, 
105,  189,  191  ;  effects  of  white 
influence  on,  85,  90,  98,  107, 
108,  1 70- 1,  197  ;  hooliganism, 
227  ;  street  Arabism,  228. 

Native  opinion,  channels  for  expres- 
sion of,  see  under  Attitude  of 
native. 

Native  problem,  the,  7-17,  19,  83-7, 
90-1,  107-9,  112,  122,  149-51, 
169,  171,  195-7,  203,  214-6; 
the  franchise,  262-7  ;  definition 
of,  19-21,  203  ;  false  general- 
izations regarding,  12,  109, 
1 80  ;  indifference  to,  1 1 8, 
239-40,  246,  311  ;  fear  of  in- 
dustrial competition  with  native, 
120-9,  279-81  ;  a  forecast  of 
the  future  if  no  change  is 
made,  278-82  ;  increased  in- 
terest in  since  South  African 
Native  Commission  Report,  10- 
1 1  ;  three  factors  in  :  tribalism, 
71,  85,  98  ;  white  influence,  98  ; 
missionary  work,  97-9  {see 
those  headittgs)  ;  the  basis  of 
reconstruction,  99  ;  the  con- 
servation of  home  life,  177, 
M9-5I)  323;  native  confidence 
in  us  essential,  105  ;  remedy 
must  be  gradual,  1 50 ;  must 
meet  racial  peculiarities  and 
needs,  109  ;  agricultural  im- 
provement and  the,  115-20, 
151;  our  political  system  not 
understood,  270  ;  for  the  future, 
310-11,  314-18,  32i;3,.  326-7  ; 
international  commission  to 
investigate  relations  of  black 
and  white,  suggested,  10 ; 
qualifications  requisite  for  deal- 
ing with  the  problem,  16-18, 
271,  311.  See  also  under 
headijigs  of  sub-problems. 

Native  races,  decline  of,  55-8. 

Negroes  of  Southern  United  States, 
cited,    57,    58,   91,    no,    264; 


INDEX 


Booker  Washington,  cited,  268, 

3-3- 

Newspapers,  native,  185. 

New  Zealand,  life  in,  xv,  210;  repre- 
sentation in,  268. 

Nostalgia,  3,  156,  175. 

Occupations  of  natives :  census  of 
Natal  quoted,  174. 

Olivier,  Sir  Sidney,  223. 

Orange  Free  State  :  area  and  popu- 
lation of  native  reservations, 
140;  position  of  black  and 
white  in,  237  ;  definition  of 
"  Native,"  303  ;  number  of 
children  without  school  edu- 
cation, 236  ;  agricultural  possi- 
bilities of,  319. 

Panda,  Zulu  chief,  43. 

Paris  Evangelical  Mission,  100- 1. 

Physical  deterioration,  modern  mis- 
givings concerning,  208. 

Pietennaritzburg,  43,  135,  227. 

Pixley,  the  Rev.  Mr.,  of  the  American 
Zulu  Mission,  92. 

Police  (in  the    Transkei    and    Natal), 

38-9,  255- 

Poll-tax,  82,  130 ;  native  complaint 
regarding,  82,  194. 

Polygamy,  60-2,  103-4  ;  Dr.  G.  M. 
Theal,  cited,  61-2. 

Polynesian,  the,  55,  56. 

Pondoland,  23,  48,  141,  146,  and  see 
Transkeian  Territories. 

Pondos,  the,  43. 

Poor  whites  problem :  poor  Dutch, 
46-8,  219  ;  Dutch  and  British 
compared,  222  ;  direct  result  of 
coloured  environment,  220,  221, 
279,  281,  324;  pioneers  of 
North  America  and  Australasia, 
cited,  219-20  ;  hope  for  the  chil- 
dren, 219,  324-5  ;  parallel  prob- 
lem in  Southern  United  States 
of  America,  220-1,  279-80  ; 
Transvaal  Indigency  Commis- 
sion report,  quoted,  324  ;  for 
the  future,  325. 

Population  :  2,  43,  217  ;  of  native  re- 
servations, 140  ;  rapid  growth 
of  native,  148  ;  and  see  Terri- 
torial references. 


Pretoria,  45,  46. 

Puberty,  suspension  of  mental  powers 
of  natives  at,  36-7. 

Qadi  tribe,  4,  92,  93. 

Qualifications    necessary    for    a    true 

judgment    on    native    matters, 

16-18,  271,  311. 

Race  contact,  effect  on  whites,  228, 
240,  and  see  under  Environ- 
ment. 

Race  development,  noble  families  of 
Britain,  cited,  207. 

Race  inequality,  the  white  man's  view, 
198,  200-3. 

Randt,  see  Witwatersrand. 

Red  Indian,  cited,  55,  56. 

ReHgion  :  beliefs  of  the  native,  40-1  ; 
and  the  moral  standard  of  na- 
tives, 1 09- 1 1  ;   Islamism,  in. 

Religious  organizations  among  natives, 
87-9,  91  ;  independence  in  re- 
hgious  affairs,  89-91,  204. 

Representation :  South  Africa  Act  : 
natives  debarred  from  Union 
Parliament,  199  ;  Provincial 
Councils  open  to  natives,  199  ; 
Mr.  Rubesana,  member  for 
Tembuland,  cited,  199 ;  South 
African  Native  Commission  : 
quoted,  263,  265  ;  cited,  268  ; 
recommendations  of  Natal  Com- 
mission, 268  ;  New  Zealand 
system  :  the  Maories  cited,  268  ; 
equal  representation  considered, 
265-7  ;  partial  representation  in- 
adequate, 269-70,  272  ;  the  na- 
tive and  the  franchise,  270-2  ; 
Lord  Selborne  quoted  on  test  for 
franchise,  272-3,  307-8  ;  con- 
sideration of  this  test,  273-4  ; 
author's  view,  274 ;  for  the 
future,  322-3  ;  of  Asiatics,  re- 
commendation regarding,  295  ; 
and  see  u?ider  heading  Fran- 
chise. 

Repressionists,  109,  276. 

Reserves  and  Locations,  45,  140-1  : 
146  {and  see  heading  Loca- 
tions) ;  Mission  reserves,  132  ; 
native  view  that  reserves  are 
nearing  limit  of  population,  151, 


INDEX 


339 


Responsibility,  sense  of,  fostered  by 
tribalism,  T]  ;  effect  of  white 
influence  on,  82-3. 

Rhodes,  Cecil,  quoted,  272. 

Ricksha  pullers,  27  ;  evils  attendant 
on  this  work,  168-9. 

Roman  Catholic  Missions,  99,  100. 

Royal  Colonial  Institute,  235. 

Rubesana,  Mr.,  native  member,  pro- 
vincial council,  Tembuland, 
cited,  199. 

Sargant,  E.  B.,  cited,  mental  satura- 
tion, natives  at  adolescence, 
37-8. 

Segregation,  doctrine  of,  216,  275-7  ; 
as  a  principle  of  early  lawgivers, 
196;  as  a  future  policy,  216, 
310,  314-8,  326-7  ;  and  native 
policy  of  Cape  Colony,  255. 

Selborne,  Lord,  quoted  on  Basutos' 
desire  to  be  let  alone,  205  ; 
cited,  assimilation  of  race  char- 
acteristics, 231-2  ;  quoted,  test 
for  representation,  272,  307. 

Sheep  farming,  47,  48. 

Shepstone,  John,  275. 

Shepstone,  Sir  Theophilus,  186,  188, 
242. 

Sloley,  Mr.,  French  Protestant  Mis- 
sion, lOI. 

Somtseu,  see  Shepstone,  Sir  Theo- 
philus. 

South  Africa  Act,  199,  245. 

South  African  Native  Commission, 
Report  of,  10 ;  cited,  88  ; 
missionary  work,  no,  117; 
enfranchisement,  263,  265  ;  re- 
presentation, 26S  ;  recommends 
restrictions  on  native  purchase 
of  land,  314-6  ;  definition  of 
"native,"  303,  305. 

South  African  Union,  anomalies  of 
native  law,  304. 

South  African  Union  Parliament, 
199,  244. 

South  East  Africa :  area  defined, 
22-5  ;  natural  features,  22-5, 
146  ;  climate,  22,  24,  25,  52-5, 
146,  214  ;  the  high  veldt,  52-3, 
319  ;  the  middle  veldt,  52-4  ;  the 
bush  veldt,  52,  54  ;  status  of  the 
white  man  in,   15;  easy  condi- 


tions of  life  in,  159-61,  206-11  ; 
the  early  settlers,  209  ;  modern 
immigrants,  209  ;  comparison 
with  life  in  New  Zealand,  210  ; 
effect  of  the  environment  on  an 
industry,  212  ;  political  position 
in,  238-9  ;  the  franchise  in,  260- 
I  ;  indifference  to  native  affairs, 
239,  240,  269  ;  a  forecast  of 
the  future  if  no  change  is  made, 
278-82  ;  policies  and  theories 
of  Government :  in  Transvaal 
and  Orange  Free  State,  237, 
240-1  ;  in  Natal,  241-9,  255  ;  in 
Basutoland,  249-51  ;  in  Cape 
Colony  and  Transkei,  251-8, 
260-1  ;  agriculture,  164  ;  and 
agricultural  possibilities,  319- 
20  ;  Asiatics  in,  285. 

Standerton,  47. 

Stanford,  Col.,  Commission  to  Transkei 
on  individual  tenure,  cited,  143, 
254. 

Status  of  native,  237-8,  241,  260-3, 
302-7. 

Strachan,  Mr.  Donald,  of  Umzim- 
kulu,  cited,  61. 

Sugar  cultivation,  45. 

Swaziland,  24,  43,  48  ;  the  people, 
24. 

"Taal,"  the,  51. 

Taxation:  hut-  and  poll-tax,  63,  130, 
144,  194  ;  license  fees,  144,  168, 
169  ;  in  Basutoland,  250  ;  in 
Transkei,  257,  258  ;  the  native 
attitude  towards,  82,  137,  258  ; 
poll-tax  and  disintegration  of 
tribalism,  82,  194  ;  taxation  to 
increase  supply  of  labour,  con- 
sidered, 177-80. 

Tembus,  the,  23,  43,  259. 

Theal,  Dr.  G.  M.,  The  Yelloio  and 
Dark-skinned  Races  of  South 
Africa,  cited,  2>7  '1  on  the 
fecundity  of  the  Abantu,  cited, 
61,  62. 

Theft,  native  idea  of  collective  respon- 
sibility, 77. 

Togt  boys,  169. 

Transkeian  Territories — 

Natural  features,  23,  48  ;  compari- 
son   with    Basutoland,     146-7; 

* 


340 


INDEX 


European  population  of,  48  ; 
law-abiding  people,  small  num- 
ber of  police  necessary,  38,  255  ; 
character  of  the  people,  255  ; 
Administration,  123-4,  256-7  ; 
education,  124;  power  of  native 
chiefs,  69  ;  permissive  local 
Government,  256,  258  ;  func- 
tions and  composition  of  District 
Native  Councils,  123-4,  256-7  ; 
General  Council,  124,  256-9; 
system  investigated  by  a  Com- 
mission from  Natal,  257-60  ; 
keen  interest  of  "  raw  "  natives 
in  management  of  local  affairs, 
257  ;  the  franchise,  304  ;  Land 
question  :  native  population, 
140  ;  reserve  land  originally 
held  tribally,  141  ;  modified 
European  method  of  individual 
tenure  introduced,  141,  254  ; 
inquiries  into,  143,  254,  257  ; 
conditions  of  tenure,  142;  system 
compared  with  that  of  Basuto- 
land,  147  ;  claim  that  natives 
occupy  the  land  to  greater 
advantage  than  would  be  pos- 
sible to  Europeans,  147  ; 
farming  and  agriculture,  124; 
labour  for  Europeans,  320 ; 
revenue,  257  ;  native  progress 
in  the,  123-4,  143,  255  ;  due  to 
the  policy  of  Cape  Government, 
143,  147,  254-5,  258  ;  a7id  see 
under  Cape  Colony. 
Transvaal:  climate  and  natural 
features,  24  ;  population,  45, 
240-1  ;  Land  question,  129  ; 
approximates  to  that  of  Natal, 
145  ;  area  and  population  of 
native  reservations,  140,  145  ; 
native  tenure,  145  ;  land 
occupied  communally,  145  ; 
private  locations,  145  ;  area  and 
native  population  of  Crown 
lands,  145-6  ;  the  Grondwet, 
sharp  distinction  between  black 
and  white,  237,  241  ;  position  of 
black  and  white  in,  241  ;  defini- 
tion of  "native,"  302  ;  an  organ- 
ization to  encourage  white  labour 
formed,  214-5  >  the  poor  Dutch, 
46-8,  219-22  ;  Indigency  Com- 


mission report,  quoted,  324  ; 
children  without  school  edu- 
cation, 236  ;  Asiatics  in,  293  ; 
agricultural  possibilities  of,  319. 

Trappists,  the,  99. 

Tribalism — 

Tribal  life  :  the  chief  and  his  body- 
guard, 65  ;  devotion  to  the 
Royal  House,  66  ;  attachment 
to  tribe  and  chief,  66,  70 ; 
difference  of  outlook  :  contrast 
between  white  and  black,  66-7, 
68,  74-5,  82. 
Tribal  system  :  main  features  of, 
67-72  ;  of  Zulu  and  Basuto, 
minor  distinctions  in,  67  ;  the 
family,  67-8  ;  devolution,  68  ; 
discipline,  68  ;  submission  to 
the  chief,  70  ;  power  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  chiefs,  70-1,  72, 
78-9  ;  varying  power  of,  70  ; 
public  opinion  in,  70,  71  ;  coun- 
sellors, 71  ;  land,  71,  131,  133  ; 
witchcraft,  41,  72,  75  ;  murder, 
72  ;  food,  T^  ;  importance  of 
right  appreciation  of,  71-2  ; 
native  view  of,  72  ;  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of,  76-7,  252  ; 
explanatory  of  characteristics, 
73-4,  76,  78  ;  effect  on  morals, 
76  ;  sense  of  responsibility  fos- 
tered by,  ^]^  ;  justification  of,  is 
in  the  character  of  the  people, 
79  ;  potent  factor  in  conserva- 
tion of  character,  98  ;  effect  of 
white  influence  on,  79-83,  86,  98 ; 
invasion  of  individualistic  ideas, 
67,  81-2  ;  disintegration  of,  in- 
evitable, 242,  252  ;  evidences 
of  disintegration,  79,  82,  136, 
193-5,  252-3,  279  ;  missionary 
influence  as  a  disintegrating 
force,  84-5,  98  ;  must  be  con- 
served until  people  ready  for 
some  other  way,  252  ;  recom- 
mendations of  Natal  Native 
Commission,  252-3  ;  provision 
for  emancipation  from  (Natal), 
242,  243  ;  Cape  Colony  policy 
regarding  tribalism  in,  252,  253, 
254;  Basutoland,  tribal  gov- 
ernment in,  250. 

Tugela,  river,  45,  93. 


INDEX 


341 


Tyaka,  6,  23,  43,  70,  86,  195  et passim. 

Umhlatuzi,  river,  65. 
Umkomanzi,  river,  131. 
Umlazi,  native  location,  3,  251. 
Umtamvuna,  river,  23. 
Umvoti  district,  135. 
Umzimkulu,  river,  23. 
United    States,  emigration    of  natives 
to,  113  ;  a7td  see  tender  hmtncsi. 
Utrecht  district,  44,  135. 

Vaalpens  Kaffirs,  24. 
Veldt,  the,  52-4,  319. 
Vryheid  district,  44,  135. 

Wages,  43,  i35,  169,  315. 

Wakkerstroom,  47. 

Washington,  Booker,  cited,  268,  323. 

Water,  conservation  of,  140-1,  151. 

Waterberg,  48,  145. 

Wattle  tree  cultivation,  44,  319. 

Weapons,  native,  26. 

Wesleyans,  87  ;  secession  of  the  Re\^ 

J.  M.  Dwane  and  his  followers, 

88. 
White  influence  effects  of,  79-86,  90-1, 

92-4,  107-8. 
White  man,  effect  of  the  environment 

on  the,  see  ujider  Environment. 
White  Kaffirs,  291,  292. 


Witchcraft,  5,  41,  72,  75. 

Witwatersrand,  45,  98,  170-3,  278, 
290  ;  population,  45  ;  standard 
of  living,  45  ;  undesirables,  45, 
46  ;  labour  agents,  173,  and 
see  U7tder  Labour. 

Women's  work,  100;  cotton  crops  and 
employment,  119;  female  do- 
mestic servants    the  exception, 

166  ;  scruples  and  difficulties  in 
way  of  employing  female  labour, 

167  ;  census  figures  as  to,  174. 
Wood,  J.  Medley,  4. 

XoSAS,  the,  23,  259. 

ZOUTPANSBERG,  48,   1 45. 

Zulus  :  and  Basutos  compared,  26,  43  ; 
physiognomy  of  Royal  House, 
cited,  27  ;  under  Tyaka's  rule, 
6,  23,  43,  70,  86,  195. 

Zululand  :  natural  features  of,  22-3  ; 
area  of,  45  ;  population  of,  44  ; 
Basutos  in,  23  ;  power  of  the 
native  chiefs  in,  69-70  ;  native 
reservations  in,  45  ;  Land  ques- 
tion, 129,  140  ;  miscegenation, 
224  ;  native  law,  position  of 
half-castes,  304. 

Zululand  Native  Trust,  45. 

Zwartkop,  native  location,  251. 


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